| Ryan Healey | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | R | D | 6’1″ | 179 | Harvard | 2022 | Hull, MA | 2004 | 2021-2022: B- |
USHL: Sioux Falls Stampede vs Des Moines Buccaneers, October 29, 2021: In the Sioux Falls 3-2 win Healey earned 16:22 in total ice time, including 0:31 while on the power play. Statistically he finished with 2 assists, was plus 1, with 1 hit and 5 giveaways versus 10 takeaways. On his first assist we liked the ice awareness he showed. Both teams were caught in a chaotic line change and during the ensuing neutral zone transition he received a hard D to D pass. Without dusting the puck off Healey fired a cross seam rocket that hit his forward in stride, he went in to score on a wrap around. Defensively we noticed an increased effort to use his smooth lateral movement to end line rushes earlier in the neutral zone and to pin players while defending the cycle. He played with a stick on puck style that forced poor decisions and in most instances forced poor Des Moines dumps. Of the 18 scoring chances for the Buccaneers Healey was on the ice for one that originated while defending a defensive zone cycle. On a 50/50 puck his offensive instincts took over exposing a one-timer in the high slot. Yes the puck did take an unpredictable bounce leading up to the shot, but it still occurred on a 50/50 puck in the defensive zone. Overall we noticed a harder more patient defensive posture that we feel he can continue to build on.
USHL: Sioux Falls Stampede vs Tri-City Storm, October 23, 2021: In the 3-2 Sioux Falls win Healey earned 10:13 in total ice time, including 4:24 while on the power play. Statistically he finished with zero points, was minus 1, had 2 shots on goal (2PP) and 0 giveaways versus 1 takeaway. Offensively Healey continues to make difficult passes look easy. On the man advantage he showed awareness and poise as he ran the power play from the blueline. Healey looked penalty killers off and gave good passes while he was doing it. Defensively it looked to us that Healey has been told he needs to play a harder more abrasive game. We feel this is something he will add to his game over time, but in this game that a worked against him. Often times it looked like he took himself out of solid defensive zone positioning looking for the big hit. He is a rookie learning about life in the USHL and we feel tonight was a situation he will grow from.
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: U18 Team USA vs Czech Republic, July 31, 2021: In the 5-3 Team USA win Healey played more than any other American player. He earned 19:38 in total ice time, including 3:13 while on the power play and an additional 2:21 while short handed. Statistically he finished with zero points, was minus 1, had 2 shots on goal (1PP), 1 grade “A” scoring opportunity (1PP), an additional 2 shots that were blocked and 5 giveaways versus 3 takeaways. There is no denying that Healey’s skating and puck skills made him the most dynamic offensive defenseman in this game. His passes were on target and easy to handle. His poise while under duress is something that can not be taught. Healey smoothly pulled pucks off the wall and showed a quick burst of speed that generated consistent separation. Defensively we would have liked to see him use his feet to his advantage by taking away time and space more quickly. As his defensive game matures we will be looking for Healey to recognize when opponents are on their backhands or have a bouncing puck so he can use his elite feet to be a consistent high end defender.
USA Hockey Selects 17’s, July 14, 2021: Healey was the most polished skater in the tournament; he has a long, smooth stride; he’s agile, he’s quick and seamless in transition, he has excellent first step quickness, he maintains top speed up ice and has swift lateral movements. What is even more impressive about Healey is that he can play as fast with the puck as he does without it and took pucks end to end at will. He has impressive command from the backend; he can slow it down, he can push the pace, he can stretch the ice with high skilled, precision passes through the neutral zone on the tape which led his forwards to several odd man rushes or even breakaways. He has soft hands and good first touch, he walks the offensive blue line quickly and keeps pucks in and gets low shots through traffic for rebounds. He scored a beautiful stop corner snipe after coming off the blue line to the top circles and ripped it off the top crossbar and into the net. With that being said he doesn’t have a heavy shot from the point and while he shoots for rebounds he does get several shots blocked as he lacks the power to snap it off quick and get much power behind it. The other knock on Healey would be his strength and physicality defensively; he isn’t able to separate opponents from the puck on the rush or in the corners, he doesn’t have a strong net front presence and he lost some 50/50 pucks in the contested areas. He does use his stick very well, his skating ability allows him to gap up and play tight coverage to take away opponents time and space and he also has a savvy anticipation to jump plays, pick off passes in the neutral zone and breakup plays. Healey was one of the best, if not the best, breakout defender because he’s so quick back to the puck, he has elusive escape moves and quickness to pull away from forecheckers and high end vision and passing ability to survey his options and move the puck instantly to the open man. He has a rare skill set at this age in that he has the poise to wait out defenders and wait for lanes to open before making the play or he can push the pace and make split second decisions and move the puck before a forechecker can get on him. A high ceiling puck possession, two-way defenseman with outstanding footwork who finished here with a 1-2-3 line in 4 games who will get even better as he fills into his frame and improves his shot power and physicality defensively. College: Harvard Grade: A
2004s: MA Festival, June 9, 2021: Healey is an elite skating offensive defenseman who can create space for himself in just about any area of the ice. The Harvard commit has smooth, deceptive hands that allow him to snake his way through defenders and shake off forecheckers. Supports the play extremely well as he’s always an option for his D partner. Possesses the puck and will escape traffic to control the puck and make a play. Can get caught drifting and with his stick in the air in the defensive zone. Constantly joined the rush here and outnumbered the opposing teams on attacks numerous times. Can play high risk at times but he has the ability and talent to make guys miss in grey areas of the ice. National Camp Selection. Grade: A-
USHL: Sioux Falls vs Lincoln Stars, April 24, 2021: In the 3-2 loss to Lincoln Healey earned 20:53 in total ice time, including 3:32 while on the power play and 3:30 while short handed. Statistically he finished with zero points, was plus 1, had 3 shots on goal (2PP), 1 additional shot was blocked and 7 giveaways versus 6 takeaways. His first shot came on a power play breakout that turned into a line rush where he recognized open ice and did not force a pass into trouble. The second shot came on a one-timer off a set face-off play and the third shot was power play snap shot from the blueline that generated a rebound. Defensively we would like to see Healey use his elite skating skills to end or pinch off even man line rushes earlier. His pivoting is so smooth that we feel a more aggressive mindset during even man line rush situations will lead to more transition and offense, which is his bread and butter. His offensive skill set will always be an asset that coaches will look to use on the power play.
USHL: U18 USNTDP vs Youngstown Phantoms, March 19, 2021: In Team USA’s 4-2 win Healey earned 13:01 in total ice time. He did not factor in the special teams game. Statistically he finished with 1 assist, was plus 2, with 3 shots on goal and 3 giveaways versus 2 takeaways. Healey’s primary assist came with 1:22 left in the third period while protecting a 1 goal lead. While maintaining defensive side positioning he won a mid-wall battle which created a loose puck that led directly to the goal. All three of his shots were a small glimpse into his skills as a smooth confident right shot defenseman. On each, while moving laterally he corralled a puck at the offensive blueline, gave subtle deception to create a shooting lane and fired a hard snapper. Two of the three shots created rebounds and confusion in Youngtown’s defensive zone coverage.
Morandom Thoughts, December 15, 2020: Healey is as smooth as they come. When he wheels the net his head is up, feet are moving and he has the head faking ability to make forecheckers literally fall down. He also takes numbers and has some fire.
QMJHL American Entry Draft, June 17, 2020: Healey is the best player of the first three selections here. He is talented, silky and skilled on the back end. While the QMJHL would be a good fit for his style of play, he is a good student and will have lots of options on the NCAA front. He is a flight risk for sure but perhaps worth the risk. Here is some of one of our reports on Ryan: During the regular games, he first caught our eyes against Forest as he started a breakout with some wiggle to avoid the forecheck and then a quick pass up. He then jumped up and joined the rush and got the puck back near the net where he buried a goal while falling down. It was a nice play and showed his diverse set of tools. He is mobile and his hands are soft. He showed poise with the puck and made fluid passes with proper touch. He rode contact in his end, drew a penalty (same shift as his goal) and showed good lateral movement to squeeze off the rush. Murph’s Take: Ryan is a player that has gotten better and better the last 18 months. He was an NTDP camp invite and taken #7 overall by Sioux Falls in the USHL Draft. He has grown and is about 6’1” currently. His game is rounding out quickly as he has learned to be tougher and more dependable in his end. He is one of the premier US 2004 defenseman right now and it will be difficult to pull him from the NCAA route. However, Gatineau is right over the bridge from Ontario. They enjoy Americans playing up there and players can go to school over the bridge. Ian’s Take: Ryan is a first round QMJHL talent all day. I’m not sure if he’ll consider going Major Junior, but his upward trajectory has been astonishing. He has incredible poise and his vision seems to improve every game. I love how he retrieves pucks with a purpose and I feel he’s a kid who is just scratching the surface of his potential.
USHL Draft Recap, May 8, 2020: There’s a good chance Ryan has improved as much or more than any player in the country over the last few years. He’s a smart smooth righty who can generate offense from anywhere on the ice. He has the ability to play some games this year and after that has top pair defenseman ability in this league.
U15: USHL Showcase, October 25, 2019: Ryan was the most consistent player on an Advantage team that struggled all weekend. He is a long, athletic right-shot defender that can make defenders miss. He wants the puck on his stick and is confident making plays in all three zones. He handles the puck well at speed and did a good job facilitating the offense off-the-rush. Keeps good gaps defensively through the neutral zone and uses his stick to cut down passing angles. He runs around a bit in his own zone and will need to be more consistent shift-to-shift. Strong weekend and has a lot to build on. Grade: A-
USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, August 24, 2019: Healey is another player who we felt played bigger than his listed height. He caught our eye in the 3v3 portion of camp as he had the puck a lot and scored a goal on a pretty deke. Showed skill for a defenseman. During the regular games, he first caught our eyes against Forest as he started a breakout with some wiggle to avoid the forecheck ad then a quick pass up. He then jumped up and joined the rush and got the puck back near the net where he buried a goal while falling down. It was a nice play and showed his diverse set of tools. He is mobile and his hands are soft. He showed poise with the puck and made fluid passes with proper touch. He rode contact in his end, drew a penalty (same shift as his goal) and showed good lateral movement to squeeze off the rush. Our scouts thought there were times he did a good job in front of his net and other times, he chased the puck. One thing he must do is become tougher to play against in his end. His positioning, awareness and physicality all can improve. He is skilled and athletic so it should be an area to add to his game. Overall, he is a nice prospect with a high ceiling. Grade: B-
U14: Mass Festival (2004s), May 2019: Healey controlled his gaps well jumping into the passing lane to deny rush opportunities while also forcing opposing forwards along the walls and sealing them off with a hip check. In the offensive zone he showed some smooth moves carving up the zone and making a clean backhand pass to open up a better look for a teammate. Also took an impressive shot by curling the puck around a defender dragging it by him and then ringing it off the pipe. Grade: B
U14: Boston Breakout SuperSeries AAA, October 14, 2018: Healey is a small, mobile defender who just oozes confidence from the blue line. He moved the puck extremely well and has quick hands which allow him to maneuver around defenders in any situation. He has good athleticism and curl and drag skill plus the willingness to take on anyone. He has the ability to go end-to-end if he wants to but sometimes that can be a detractor when he tries to do too much. He’s able to play the middle in the box formation on the power play and he uses the middle effectively as he careens up the ice. Impressive outing.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Stats provided by InStat