Projection:Top 4 Defender
Projectable Skills:Skating stride, transition play
Development Opportunities: Delay and circle back, defensive details

Ryder has the ability to put everyone on the ice on their heels. I’ve seen him at multiple camps, events, and league play simply blow past top-defenders on the outside and push pace deep into the zone. Often though, his desire to make end to end drives somehow leads to a turnover one way or another along the way. For defensemen, I think it is easy to tell his intentions and that makes it easier to match pace and speed with him to try and separate him from the puck. If he were to pull up after entries, settle play down, or pause to freeze defenders, that would help open up a whole world of options for him offensively. Little tweaks to the way he attacks off the rush will help him a lot. He’s aggressive, opens his shooting posture very consistently, uses quality stick pokes in motion, and is constantly looking to turn play around in the defensive zone. He chooses to take risks positionally in the defensive zone in order to spring out of the zone quickly which results in inconsistent coverage one-on-one but also achieves the goal of being more active. Much of his style of play off the rush will continue to be successful in the ways he currently chooses to operate and it will be those little adjustments and details to his play which will determine the high-end outcomes. He can also score with his heavy snap wrist shot and has the understand to score through traffic in the slot. I think he chooses to force the pathways though rather than pick detailed moments. His approach is to shoot and see what happens. Overall, he chooses to be the shooter more often than drawing pressure and dishing, and he chooses to spring the zone before he chooses lock-down defensive positioning. He comes with a bit of chaos but high-end skill and mobility.

I think at this point it is quite easy for me to consider him a top two round option for the draft. His skating power and ability to break through layers of coverage makes him valuable at a baseline of sorts. I’ve watched him in a number of events and tournaments now to see that upside in his offensive game. I think as coaches continue to mold and shape his decision making in key moments, Ryder could become an extremely effective offensive defender at the next levels. I’m still looking for him to throw in more strategic elements off the rush to keep defenders and goaltenders on their toes by using delays, cutbacks, and making sure to draw that extra pressure before passing into the slot with quality timing. I think the upside on his game is really nice since he already has that level of mobility at 6’0 and 185 lbs.

My notes on Ryder from earlier camps have come with some mixed results despite his obvious size and transition ability. It felt like some moments he was forcing the action and little adjustments to his game would make vast improvements on the results. It seems like every viewing I have on him, he’s getting better. That is a great sign. He’s listed at 6’0 and 185 lbs and moves with a powerful, long extension to his skating stride in transition. You can tell he is always thinking about how to turn around the play early on and lead that rush attempt up the wall. In an event like this, his skillset was rewarded with scoring chances, low wrist shots on net for rebounds, and can carve on one foot into better shooting lanes. Right now, his game is defined by the transition ability and the heaviness of his wrist shot. There are improvements to make by choosing to delay more often, keeping opponents guessing on the shot/pass, and defensive angles and closeouts. As mentioned above though, I anticipate that Ryder will consistently get that “he’s improving” comment on my notepad.

Ryder Dunn was an impressive defender for DHA Green on the offensive side of the puck, playing a large role in assisting them tallying 8 goals by the end of the match. He got involved in the first goal of the game by making a strong move to the middle of the ice whilst walking the blueline, sliding a puck around a checker, flipping to his forehand, and firing a hard, low, shot that created a rebound chance that Jack Morgan buried to get the 1-0 lead. He scored the fourth goal of the game for his team to bring the lead to 4-0 with a bullet of a shot. Finding some time and space from the left side he released a heavy wrist shot that the goalie saw clean but couldn’t even react to as he beat him cleanly. He continued to be a shooting threat from the line, peppering the net with low shots to create rebounds along with aiming to pick corners when the opportunities arose. In the defensive zone he was able to be of use in transition getting his feet and hands moving, using great escape velocity to separate himself from forecheckers, and exit the zone with control. His pace, puck skills, and offensive instincts really helped his team maintain possession and get prolonged offensive pressure leading to offensive success.

I don’t know if I’ve seen a high-end defender take advantage of the transitional green light more than Ryder at this point from the 2009-born group. He is always thinking puck rush and using that power in his stride and his shot to blow past layers of neutral zone coverage. At this point, I’m looking for a diversity of approach instead of attacking one on one and trying to beat goaltenders clean who are squaring up and anticipating his shot selection. Throw in some curls, delays, cutbacks, and make the goaltender have to read how likely you are to pass across when you draw that coverage. Ryder continues to show that his skating stride and power makes him a top-2 round option for the WHL Draft.

He must have given himself quite the pre game pep talk because any time he touched the puck he was trying to circle to his right and power up the ice. There was obvious excitement as he burst past the first couple layers of coverage with the power to his strides but then more often than not would be poked loose or bobbled for a turnover. You can see what he’s trying to do and there is obvious, natural skill to his skating stride and his intention but the execution was a little bit forced. It left him lagging behind plays defensively and sometimes putting his defensive partners in tougher spots. Either way, the skill is there and his defensive instincts to break up rushes early with stick pokes and not let players past him physically defending his net led to a player who has lots of potential and exciting refinement.