There were a few noticeable head turners over the weekend as the Battalion held their man camp in North Bay at Memorial Gardens, maybe none more so than Ryder Carey. The highly-touted 16-year-old centre drafted by the team in the first round (16th overall in 2024) quickly showed why the Troops were eager to bring the Oakville native into the fold.
Over the weekend, he played on a line with Anthony Romani and Owen Van Steensel, two-thirds of the Troops’ top line from last year who combined for 197 points, and the trio played a very fluid game together, setting each other up for some eyebrow raising goals, with Carey scoring three of them in Sunday morning's finale.
"They made my life 100 times easier having them on my line," Carey said following the final training camp game on Sunday morning. "They fed me a couple of times. They were unreal to play with, and they definitely helped me out today. It was a good experience playing with them."
Battalion General Manager John Winstanley says they aren’t surprised Carey fit in so well with Romani and Van Steensel, “I think Ryder stood out to us early on as somebody who can play a full complete game. I've had some of the veteran players already come to me and talk to me about how he's playing, how he's fitting in, and how things are going. So, his development from when we saw him play U16 hockey to development camp to now, he just keeps trending up, and that's obviously a positive thing.”
Winstanley says that doesn’t happen with every team, where veteran players are coming up and telling the front office that they think a 16-year-old could fit in with the top line. “Well, I think it speaks to many things. It speaks to the type of veteran players we have that are taking the time to talk to the younger guys and that's a huge part of what we want and what we preach around here. But we also listen as a staff, that's what we want to hear because they're on the bench with them. in the dressing room with them. And it's always good feedback. That's very helpful for us.”
Winstanley says Ryder's ability to score is what stood out to him and the scouting staff as Ryder’s Oakville Rangers team went on to win the OHL cup last spring.
“We have guys like Romani and other big pieces who can put the puck in the net, but this is a kid who seemed to score all the time. He’s a game-breaker who has a lot of ability," he says. In 42 regular-season and playoff games, Carey scored 30 goals and added 36 assists for 66 points for Oakville last season.
Carey grew up in the Hamilton area, attending Bulldogs games as well as cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews being his favourite player.
“That’s something me and my dad love to do; watch the games together,” says Carey. “My dad played hockey, so he got me into it as soon as I could get skates on, and it’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”
He says the experience of his first main camp has been very rewarding, “I was excited coming in. I got what I thought I was going to get out of it. It was really exciting to meet all the new guys, see the atmosphere, and play with some of them. It was really a good experience for me and a good development thing for me to see all the other guys and how they do it around here."
With main camp now wrapped up an exhibition schedule is on the horizon, with the first game taking place on Friday, as the Battalion will host Ottawa at 7 p.m.
Carey says he’s excited to get the season going, with the players already talking about leaving their own legacy on a team that has had a lot of recent playoff success.
“It will be nice to be a part of that legacy of playing deep into the playoffs in North Bay and I’m hoping to play a big role in that,” says Carey. “I know a lot of the guys are already talking about how exciting it is to be a part of a team that is always winning and always has a shot of going to the finals. That’s already been a part of the conversations in the locker room. This team has made it to the conference finals three times and they want to win it this year. I'll hopefully be lucky enough to be a part of that and I'll hope to contribute to that this year.”
