The Arizona Coyotes bid farewell to their desert home with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on April 17, closing the curtain on a 28-year run in Arizona before embarking on a new chapter of NHL hockey in Salt Lake City.
Despite the loss, at least one Edmonton player, center/wing Derek Ryan, was happy about the Coyotes’ move to Utah — for obvious and personal reasons.
He’s excited for the Coyotes’ move because he knows people in the Beehive State are passionate sports fans and hockey will now be a more prevalent sport in Utah. He also has family living in the area.
But what Ryan is most thrilled about is the opportunity to play hockey in the state where his Latter-day Saint faith is the predominant religion.
“It will be awesome,” he told the Church News. “I’m happy that more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be exposed to NHL hockey.”
Hockey, family and faith
Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Ryan was raised on a foundation of Christian faith and belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.
While playing for the Spokane Chiefs, a local junior hockey team, he met and began dating Bonnie Mckinlay, a Latter-day Saint.
Their relationship continued long distance as Ryan played college hockey and studied at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.
He remembers taking a course in which he learned about different religions worldwide. One month of the class was learning about Christianity, including three or four days on the Church of Jesus Christ. It was his first official introduction to the Latter-day Saint faith, and during that time, Mckinlay suggested he meet with the missionaries if he wanted to learn more, which Ryan did for educational purposes.
The couple married during his last year in college, then it was off to Europe to play professional hockey with stints in Hungary, Austria and Sweden.
Each summer, the couple returned home from Europe and stayed with her family. Ryan noticed with interest as the family prayed together, studied their scriptures together and consistently attended worship services on Sundays.
“It had a profound effect on me,” he said in a video devotional in February 2021. “In hindsight, little seeds of testimony were started to be planted in my heart and mind at this time.”
Having lost his mother at young age, Ryan was drawn to a belief in eternal families, temple and family history work and other foundational doctrines of the Church.
Eventually the missionaries were invited over. During their discussions, Ryan was touched to hear people with whom he had deep relationships bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. He began a serious study of the Book of Mormon.
While it was necessary to make some hard decisions and changes in his life, Ryan trusted in the promised blessings and fully committed to his new faith and was baptized.
Returning to hockey, Ryan felt immediately blessed as he was promoted to play in the Swedish Hockey League and had his best season to that point in his life, even being named league MVP.
In 2015 at age 28, a decade behind most NHL players, Ryan signed his first NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
One of the highlights of his hockey career came in his NHL debut on March 1, 2016, against the New Jersey Devils when he scored his first goal with his family in attendance.
“I remember the wave of emotions that came over me after I scored my first goal,” he said later. “I felt my mom’s presence there, smiling and happy for me. I know there were plenty of tears of joy in the stands with my family.”
Over the next two years, Ryan solidified himself as an NHL player with Carolina, then spent three seasons with the Calgary Flames before signing with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021.
Latter-day Saint in the NHL
For the third year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers are playing the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The series is currently tied 1-1, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday, April 26.
Ryan described his role on the team as being a “depth piece.”
“Edmonton has one of the deeper forward groups in this year’s playoffs. My role is usually a fourth-line center or winger, but currently I’m a depth piece. Every team needs depth to win the Stanley Cup, so that’s definitely a positive for us,” he said. “Lots of things have to go right for the team that eventually will hoist the Stanley Cup, but goaltending, timely scoring and tight defense are the staples.”
At age 37, Ryan says he has been “meticulous” when it comes his fitness and taking care of his body. He feels blessed for striving to follow the Word of Wisdom, the Church’s health code.
He also maintains a daily routine of scripture study for spiritual strength.
While driving to and from the hockey arena for a morning skate, Ryan listens to general conference talks and scriptural podcasts. On the way to games he listens to his favorite hymn, “I Stand All Amazed.” In the afternoon or before bed he likes to read the assigned “Come, Follow Me” scripture block.
“It’s a great routine, and I feel like my familiarity with the scriptures has gotten exponentially better,” he said.
Ryan is frequently asked about his faith in the locker room. He knows of no other Latter-day Saints in the NHL as long as he has played.
“My teammates are often curious about the Church’s stance on certain political issues, or the reasons behind some of the ‘rules’ that I follow,” he said. “All of these questions are fun to engage in because it gives me an opportunity to share what I know, and I continue to learn from realizing that I don’t have the perfect answer for every question. As you can imagine, a hockey locker room is a diverse place, so it’s nice to hear everyone’s opinion on certain topics, and I always enjoy sharing bits of my testimony with them.”
Balancing hockey and family
Amid the demands of a NHL hockey career, Ryan’s family has provided tremendous support. The Ryans are the parents of two children, a son named Zane and a daughter named August.
They stay busy following Zane’s hockey games and August’s interest in dance and horseback riding.
“I enjoy the days when I get to watch them do their activities, or even when I just get to pick them up from school and be with them,” Ryan said.
Life is all about balance, he said.
“I love hockey, the places it has taken me and opportunities it has given me, but my faith and my family will always be what brings me long-lasting joy,” Ryan said.
The Lord’s guidance
Reflecting on the series of faith-building experiences that led him to where he is today, Ryan expressed gratitude for the Lord and His many blessings.
“Without a doubt, the Lord has been with me and guiding me through my entire journey through hockey and life. It’s remarkable when I reflect upon some of my previous hardships and things that I have struggled with, only to realize later on that each hardship was a character-building moment for me,” he said.
“Through hockey, He has given me a bit of a platform to connect to others and help others along their journeys as well. I feel humbled and motivated by that realization. The gospel of Jesus Christ has given me a tremendous amount of peace, freedom and ease in my life. I know that whatever struggle comes my way, that I am well equipped to handle it because of His example and His teachings. There is no greater feeling that the peace that comes within when you give Him control over your life and stop trying to do it all yourself.”
