Ryan Gunderson

This article is about the American ice hockey player. For the American football coach, see Ryan Gunderson (American football).
Ryan Gunderson
Born (1985-08-16) August 16, 1985 (age 39)
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 HC Fribourg-Gottéron
Lowell Devils
Houston Aeros
Brynäs IF
Jokerit
HC Dinamo Minsk
National team  United States
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007–present

Ryan Gunderson (born August 16, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL).

Playing career

Amateur

Gunderson attended Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Gunderson graduated in the year 2003. While at Holy Ghost, Gunderson was a standout hockey player. He still holds the team record for most points in a single regular season with 94 (26 goals and 68 assists). In his senior year, Gunderson led Ghost to a Flyers Cup Championship and a 2nd-place finish in the State Championship.[1] After graduating from Holy Ghost, Ryan Gunderson attended the University of Vermont where he played hockey all 4 years. He currently holds the team record for most games played in a career with 148. He was inducted into the Holy Ghost Prep Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.

Professional

After leaving Vermont at the conclusion of his senior year, Gunderson signed a deal to play with the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL in March 2007. He appeared in 12 games and tallied 3 assists for the Inferno.

In late 2007, Gunderson signed a deal to play for the Trenton Devils, the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. Gunderson immediately excelled for the Devils, tallying 22 points (2 goals, 20 assists) in the first 29 games of his rookie season. He was selected as the lone representative from the Devils to play in the ECHL All-Star Game as a defenseman. Gunderson finished his rookie season with 46 points (4 goals, 42 assists) to lead all rookie defensemen and to place 4th in scoring among all rookies. His 42 assists also ranked him second among all ECHL defensemen. For his accomplishments, Gunderson was selected to the ECHL All Rookie Team for the 2008 season. In the 2008–09 season, Gunderson set a team record for most assists in a season with 53, and most points by a defenseman with 58. He was selected to the All-ECHL First team after being tied for the league lead for most points by a defenseman.

On April 9, 2008, it was announced that Gunderson had signed a professional tryout agreement with the AHL affiliate of the Trenton Devils, the Lowell Devils. He appeared in 3 games and tallied 0 points.

After three minor league North American seasons, Gunderson opted to travel abroad and signed with Swedish club Örebro HK of the HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2010–11 season.

Örebro initially extended Ryan's contract on October 18, 2010, for the following season 2012 season, however Gunderson gained the attention and came to terms with top tier Swedish club Brynäs IF of the then Elitserien. In the 2011–12 season the team finished the regular season in 4th, but won the league championship in the Playoffs. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Gunderson signed with Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League, leaving Brynäs after totaling 111 points (26 goals, 85 assists) over three seasons. In his lone season at Jokerit, Gunderson scored 6 goals and 29 assists, and tallied 6 points in 10 playoff games. He then moved on to HC Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, where he posted 27 points (5 goals, 22 assists).

Gunderson returned to Brynäs IF for the 2016–17 season as an assistant captain, helping the team reach the SHL Playoff Finals.

Having completed his sixth season with Brynäs IF following the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, Gunderson opted to pursue a new challenge in agreeing to a one-year contract with Swiss club, HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the NL, on March 27, 2019.[2]

International play

On January 1, 2018, Gunderson was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[3] He appeared in all five games, as the United States skated to a 7th-place finish.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 New Jersey Jr. Titans 18U AAA AYHL 17 5 14 19 10 — — — — —
2002–03 Mercer Chiefs U18 AAA AYHL 16 8 27 35 2 — — — — —
2003–04 University of Vermont ECAC 33 1 16 17 8 — — — — —
2004–05 University of Vermont ECAC 38 0 14 14 12 — — — — —
2005–06 University of Vermont HE 38 2 13 15 20 — — — — —
2006–07 University of Vermont HE 39 1 14 15 8 — — — — —
2006–07 Columbia Inferno ECHL 12 0 3 3 6 — — — — —
2007–08 Trenton Devils ECHL 72 4 42 46 33 — — — — —
2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Trenton Devils ECHL 72 5 53 58 20 7 0 3 3 0
2009–10 Houston Aeros AHL 74 5 20 25 24 — — — — —
2010–11 Örebro HK Allsv 52 11 28 39 12 10 0 5 5 2
2011–12 Brynäs IF SEL 55 9 25 34 6 17 3 2 5 6
2012–13 Brynäs IF SEL 55 9 27 36 16 4 1 0 1 0
2013–14 Brynäs IF SHL 54 8 33 41 14 — — — — —
2014–15 Jokerit KHL 58 7 29 36 16 10 0 6 6 2
2015–16 Dinamo Minsk KHL 60 5 22 27 4 — — — — —
2016–17 Brynäs IF SHL 52 4 23 27 8 20 0 10 10 4
2017–18 Brynäs IF SHL 43 4 25 29 6 8 1 2 3 0
2018–19 Brynäs IF SHL 52 8 30 38 18 — — — — —
2019–20 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NL 50 8 27 35 16 — — — — —
2020–21 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NL 51 9 36 45 8 5 0 1 1 4
2021–22 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NL 50 4 25 29 12 9 1 7 8 0
2022–23 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NL 52 8 30 38 4 2 0 0 0 0
SHL totals 311 42 163 205 68 49 5 14 19 10
KHL totals 118 12 51 63 20 10 0 6 6 2
NL totals 203 29 118 147 40 16 1 8 9 4

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States OG 7th 5 0 0 0 0
Senior totals 5 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors

Award Year
ECHL
All-Rookie Team 2008
First All-Star Team 2009
SHL
Le Mat Trophy (Brynäs IF) 2012 [4]
KHL
All-Star Game 2015

References

  1. ^ "Ryan Gunderson archive profile". Holy Ghost Prep's Hockey.org. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  2. ^ "Ryan Gunderson joins the Dragons". HC Fribourg-Gottéron (in French). 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  3. ^ "UVM alums Pelkey, Gunderson named to U.S. Olympic teams".
  4. ^ "Brynas wins hockey title". nordstjernan.com. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2017-05-15.