| Ryder Korczak | Yorkton Maulers | Midget | R | C | 5’10” | 159 | Moose Jaw Warriors | Yorkton, SK | 2002 | 2020-2021: C+ |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, May 2021: Ryder is a responsible two way centerman who displays leadership in all areas of the game. He’s been playing at about a point per game pace for the past two in years in the Western League, but I think his true value to a professional organization will be his leadership and ability to be difficult to play against. He’s not a threat to put anyone through the boards, but he stops on every puck and seems to get his stick on every 50/50 puck before his opponent. He’s incredibly consistent and that what makes a professional career.
WHL: Moose Jaw vs Saskatoon Blades, April 2021: Another consistent steady game for Korczak. He stayed on the correct side of the puck during wall battles, stops on every puck and continued to carry himself with professionalism. Offensively he showed awareness and soft touch on zone entry passes when locating a line mate in the high slot or when finding a defenseman crashing backdoor. In the defensive zone he had played with an active stick and a willingness to maintain shooting lanes or block shots.
WHL: Moose Jaw Warriors vs Winnipeg Ice, April 2021: Korczak’s first game back after missing seven games with what looks like a facial injury because he was wearing a full bubble, but his legs looked strong as he was able to play with pace and his timing through the neutral zone was excellent all night. He showed creativity on zone entries by changing speeds, angles or lanes and had the vision to locate the second wave of attack and the touch to find linemates driving the net. He is consistent veteran presence and his leadership is evident by how he carries himself between whistles and on the bench.
WHL: Moose Jaw Warriors at Swift Current Broncos, February 2020: Korczak played like a Western League veteran. He was very direct in his approach and did not waste effort foolishly chasing pucks or Broncos into non dangerous areas. He showed patience in his end while defending the cycle by maintaining net side positioning and using an active stick to break up the cycle or win 50/50 puck battles. In transition he moved the puck to space after sucking opponents to him and then jumped into the open ice to generate multiple odd man rushes. Korczak worked the mid wall on the power play and showed vision by finding power play shooter Martin Lang multiple times for cross box one timers. Offensively his patience and poise were rewarded by finishing with two points. He displayed rebound recognition on his goal by sprinting across the Royal Road to put a cross body one timer under the bar and his assist came off the forecheck where he won a 50/50 and made a clever backhand area pass into the slot.