Bobby Ryan is an offensive winger for the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team in Anaheim, California. He played for the United States in the 2010 Olympics, winning a silver medal. Bobby Ryan is a powerful player who -- according to Brian Burke, who helped build the 2010 U.S. Olympic squad and who drafted Ryan onto the Ducks' team -- "can change a game by himself. This guy can break a game open." Ryan also carried a secret past, starting with the fact that his name was Bobby Stevenson, not Bobby Ryan.
Youth
Ryan was born Bobby Stevenson in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. His father, Robert, worked at a gym owned by retired hockey great Bob Clarke. The senior Stevenson avidly helped develop his son's skills in roller hockey in the first decade of his life. But in 1997, he abruptly moved his wife and son to California after jumping bail for assaulting his wife. In California, Bobby Stevenson was told he was now to be called Bobby Ryan.
Early Career
Ryan became a renowned roller hockey player in El Segundo. Then, his father was arrested for jumping bail and sentenced to four years in prison. Ryan's mother worked two jobs, including a night shift managing an ice rink, where Ryan made the transformation to becoming an ice hockey player. In 2003, scouts for the Ontario Hockey League caught sight of 6-foot-1, 220-pound Ryan at a tryout camp. They signed him to a contract at age 16.
NHL
In his first year of eligibility for the National Hockey League draft, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks called Ryan in for a meeting. His troubled family history could have caused Anaheim to turn him down. Even knowing that, Ryan didn't hide the truth about his family troubles and why his name was changed. "If you hide it, it's more than likely going to come out at some point," Ryan has said. "Then you're going to have to deal with the repercussions of not being honest in the first place."
All Star and Olympian
Impressed with Ryan's honesty and forthright nature --- not to mention his considerable skills as an offensive winger --- the Ducks drafted him in the first round. In 2008 and 2009, Ryan made the All-Star team. In 2010, he played on the U.S. Olympic team. His mother and father were together in the stands to see their son win a silver medal.
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