Ryan Joseph Vesce (born April 7, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks.

Ryan Vesce
Born (1982-04-07) April 7, 1982 (age 42)
Lloyd Harbor, New York, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shot Right
Played for HIFK
San Jose Sharks
Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod
Skellefteå AIK
Espoo Blues
KHL Medveščak Zagreb
HC Dinamo Minsk
Traktor Chelyabinsk
HC Fribourg-Gottéron
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2004–2017

Playing career

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Vesce was born in Lloyd Harbor, New York. As a youth, he played in the 1995 and 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with minor ice hockey teams from New York.[1] He attended Portledge School and played high school hockey at Portledge School in Locust Valley, and attended Cornell University, playing hockey for the Big Red from 2000 until 2004.[citation needed] He served as captain in his senior year and was a member of the Quill and Dagger society.[citation needed] After graduation, Vesce played for Rögle BK of the Swedish second league HockeyAllsvenskan. He returned to North America, and played two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Springfield Falcons and Binghamton Senators. He returned to Europe for one season with HIFK of Helsinki.[citation needed]

In 2008, he returned to North America to sign with the Worcester Sharks of the San Jose Sharks organization, where he was the team captain. He made his NHL debut on February 11, 2009 with San Jose against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh.[2] His first career NHL goal was scored on October 17, 2009 against Martin Biron of the New York Islanders.[citation needed]

On June 28, 2010 he again crossed the ocean and signed a two-year deal with Russian team, Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod, of the Kontinental Hockey League.[citation needed]

After splitting the 2012–13 season between Sweden and Finland, on May 29, 2013, Vesce returned to the KHL signing a one-year contract with Croatian team KHL Medveščak Zagreb.[3]

Vesce spent 6 seasons abroad before returning to North America as a free agent. On September 19, 2016, he signed a professional try-out contract to attend the training camp of the Edmonton Oilers.[4] At the conclusion of training camp and heading into the pre-season, Vesce was released from his try-out with the Oilers on September 28, 2016.[citation needed]

Vesce joined Swiss club HC Lugano for the Spengler Cup in Davos and after the tournament landed a deal with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the NL on January 18.[5]

Vesce remained in Switzerland for the following 2017–18 season, agreeing to terms with EHC Olten of the lower tiered Swiss League (SL). He appeared in just 10 games with Olten before leaving the club and effectively retiring from professional hockey due to lingering concussion symptoms.[6]

Personal

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In 2006, Vesce co-founded the Salmon Cove lifestyle-inspired clothing line with Cornell hockey teammate Ben Wallace.[7]

In 2018, Ryan Vesce and Sean Sullivan opened the first Matterhorn Fit location in Bonita Springs, Florida. After great success, Matterhorn Fit opened its second location in Naples, Florida, in 2021.

Matterhorn Fit’s elite sports training facility was founded with the mission to restore and empower active lifestyles through the same holistic healing and performance process used by the world’s best athletes. Their professional trainers are passionate about helping people feel their best physically, mentally, and emotionally. Their unique proprietary process, known as the Matterhorn Fit Method, helps individuals alleviate pain, remove compensation in their system, and build resilience to future injury. Matterhorn Fit Bonita Springs and Naples fitness centers offer chronic pain relief, rehabilitation, personal training, and elite training to Olympians, professional athletes, and thousands of active individuals across Southwest Florida.[8]

In 2020, Ryan Vesce Co-Founded The Matterhorn Fit All-Ivy Showcase, designed to provide academically focused D1 prospects with direct access to the best universities in the world. The event offers deep value for NCAA coaches, athletes, families, and fans through unprecedented access, information, exposure, and feedback.[9]

Ryan Vesce also Co-Founded, The Matterhorn Fit All-Ivy Futures, a premier event organized to provide exposure, information, and a pipeline for the top young athletes in North America to reach the next level.[10]

In 2022, Ryan Vesce co-founded the Matterhorn Mentors platform to develop youth athletes into successful human beings by surrounding them with the influences and perspectives of some of the highest achievers in the Matterhorn network.[11]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Cornell University ECAC 33 7 20 27 10
2001–02 Cornell University ECAC 35 10 20 30 10
2002–03 Cornell University ECAC 36 19 26 45 16
2003–04 Cornell University ECAC 27 10 16 26 14
2004–05 Rögle BK Allsv 43 20 25 45 51
2005–06 Springfield Falcons AHL 80 18 49 67 50
2006–07 Binghamton Senators AHL 90 16 35 51 51
2007–08 HIFK SM-l 56 26 18 44 42
2008–09 Worcester Sharks AHL 67 24 47 71 28 12 3 7 10 22
2008–09 San Jose Sharks NHL 10 0 0 0 4
2009–10 Worcester Sharks AHL 35 14 16 30 20 6 3 1 4 0
2009–10 San Jose Sharks NHL 9 3 2 5 0
2010–11 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 51 25 23 48 18
2011–12 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 18 4 6 10 8 8 1 1 2 4
2012–13 Skellefteå AIK SEL 22 2 4 6 12
2012–13 Espoo Blues SM-l 14 2 4 6 10
2013–14 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 54 15 20 35 18 4 0 1 1 2
2014–15 Dinamo Minsk KHL 56 17 27 44 32 5 1 2 3 2
2015–16 Dinamo Minsk KHL 40 18 15 33 12
2016–17 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 7 1 0 1 2
2016–17 HC Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 9 0 0 0 6
2017–18 EHC Olten SL 10 3 5 8 8
NHL totals 19 3 2 5 4
KHL totals 226 80 91 171 90 17 2 4 6 8

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2002–03
NCAA (ECAC) Second All-Star Team 2002–03
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2002–03

References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  2. ^ "Playing Roster". nhl.com. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  3. ^ "Together again: Charles Linglet and Ryan Vesce sign with Bears" (in Croatian). KHL Medveščak Zagreb. 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  4. ^ "Oilers sign five to professional try-out contracts". Edmonton Oilers. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  5. ^ "Ritola and Vesce sign with HCFG" (in Italian). HC Fribourg-Gottéron. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  6. ^ "Brian Ihnacak to Olten" (in German). EHC Olten. 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  7. ^ "Salmon Cove". Salmon Cove. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  8. ^ Belmin. "Matterhorn Fit | Meet the Team". Matterhorn Fit. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  9. ^ Showcase, Matterhorn Fit All Ivy. "Matterhorn Fit All Ivy Showcase". Matterhorn Fit All Ivy Showcase. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  10. ^ Showcase, Matterhorn Fit All Ivy. "Matterhorn Fit All Ivy Showcase". Matterhorn Fit All Ivy Showcase. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  11. ^ "Home". Matterhorn Mentors. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
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