Ryan Sproul (born January 13, 1993), also known as Sipulaoer Ruian, is a Canadian-born Chinese professional ice hockey defenceman. Born in Canada, he is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played with HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Sproul was drafted 55th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Ryan Sproul
Sproul with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2015
Born (1993-01-13) January 13, 1993 (age 31)
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
team
Former teams
Free agent
Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
Kunlun Red Star
National team  China
NHL draft 55th overall, 2011
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2013–present

Playing career

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Junior

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Following his first season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Sproul was selected in the second round, 55th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

During the 2011-12 season, Sproul was the third-leading scorer for the Greyhounds and was third amongst all OHL defensemen with 54 points. Sproul recorded 23 goals and 31 assists in 61 games for the Greyhounds.

During the 2012–13 OHL season, Sproul was the Greyhounds' second-leading scorer and led all OHL defensemen with 66 points. Sproul recorded 20 goals and 46 assists in 50 games. Sproul was rewarded for his outstanding play during the season by being named to the OHL's First All-Star Team.[1] Sproul was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the most outstanding defenceman in the Ontario Hockey League.

Professional

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On March 25, 2012, the Red Wings signed Sproul to a three-year entry-level contract.[2]

After the Greyhounds were eliminated from the playoffs, Sproul joined the Grand Rapids Griffins for two regular-season games, making his AHL debut on April 20, 2013, in a game against the Lake Erie Monsters.[3]

During the 2013–14 season, in his first full season with the Griffins, Sproul was the second-highest scoring defenseman on the team, recording 11 goals and 21 assists in 72 games.[4] On April 13, 2014, Sproul made his NHL debut for the Detroit Red Wings in a game against the St. Louis Blues.[5]

On September 23, 2016, the Red Wings re-signed Sproul to a two-year contract.[6] On October 3, 2017, Sproul was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.[7] On October 21, 2017, Sproul was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Matt Puempel.[8] He was initially assigned to the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and contributed with 10 goals and 25 points in 44 games. He was later recalled to play out the remaining season with the Rangers, collecting 5 points in 16 games.

As an unrestricted free agent, Sproul was unable to sign an NHL contract over the summer. He was invited to attend the Calgary Flames' training camp on a professional tryout.[9] After appearing in three preseason games, he was released by the Flames on September 26.[10] On October 14, Sproul signed a professional tryout with the Toronto Marlies.[11] After one game, Sproul was released from his tryout. He immediately signed another tryout contract, this time with the Laval Rocket, on October 25.[12] Sproul appeared in 11 games with the Rocket, producing 1 goal and 5 points before he was released from his tryout on November 29, 2018. On December 4, Sproul joined his third AHL club for the season, securing an AHL contract for the remainder of the campaign with the Hershey Bears, affiliate to the Washington Capitals.[13]

International play

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Due to his stint in China, Sproul was called up to represent the China men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics on January 28, 2022.[14]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Bramalea Blues OJHL 7 0 1 1 6
2009–10 Vaughan Vipers OJHL 8 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Vaughan Vipers OJHL 3 1 2 3 4
2010–11 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 61 14 19 33 36
2011–12 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 61 23 31 54 53
2012–13 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 50 20 46 66 45 6 2 3 5 0
2012–13 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 72 11 21 32 49 10 2 3 5 4
2013–14 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 66 5 19 24 26 5 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 75 12 23 35 22 9 2 7 9 8
2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 27 1 6 7 6
2017–18 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 5 1 3 4 2
2017–18 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 44 10 15 25 28
2017–18 New York Rangers NHL 16 1 4 5 6
2018–19 Toronto Marlies AHL 1 0 1 1 0
2018–19 Laval Rocket AHL 11 1 4 5 8
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 52 9 14 23 8 9 3 1 4 2
2019–20 Kunlun Red Star KHL 41 3 9 12 20
2020–21 Kunlun Red Star KHL 47 9 16 25 18
2021–22 Kunlun Red Star KHL 48 6 18 24 24
2022–23 Kunlun Red Star KHL 48 4 7 11 27
2023–24 Kunlun Red Star KHL 48 2 9 11 14
NHL totals 44 2 10 12 12
KHL totals 232 24 59 83 103

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 China OG 12th 4 0 2 2 0
2022 China WC D2A 27th 4 1 4 5 0
2023 China WC D1B 25th 5 0 3 3 4
Senior totals 13 1 9 10 4

Awards and honors

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Award Year
OHL
Third All-Star Team 2011–12 [15]
First All-Star Team 2012–13
Defenceman of the Year 2012–13 [16]
CHL Defenceman of the Year 2012–13 [17]
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2013–14 [18]

References

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  1. ^ "Sproul Named OHL First Team All-Star". cksn.ca. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Bowness, Rick (March 25, 2012). "Sproul, Ouellet sign entry-level contracts". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ryan Sproul player profile". American Hockey League. April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Wings in Waiting: Ryan Sproul". Detroit Red Wings. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (April 12, 2014). "Red Wings recall Ouellet and Sproul". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (September 23, 2016). "Red Wings re-sign Ryan Sproul". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 3, 2017). "Sproul assigned to Griffins". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 21, 2017). "Detroit acquires Matt Puempel from New York Rangers". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  9. ^ "Sproul hopes to get green light for NHL gig with Flames". Calgary Flames. September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  10. ^ Francis, Eric. "PTO players released by Flames: Gilbert Brule (RW), Jeff Glass (G), Ryan Sproul (D) and Viktor Svedberg (D). Five on waivers (to be sent to minors): Tyler Graovac (C), Morgan Klimchuk (LW), Alan Quine (C), Buddy Robinson (RW) and Kerby Rychel (LW)". Twitter. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Marlies sign defenseman Ryan Sproul". Toronto Marlies. October 14, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "Laval Rocket sign Ryan Sproul to PTO". Laval Rocket. October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "Bears sign defenseman Sproul". Hershey Bears. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "China's Olympic hockey hopes rest on North American talent". sports.yahoo.com.
  15. ^ "OHL Announces 2012-13 All-Star Teams". Ontario Hockey League. April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  16. ^ "Hounds' Sproul OHL Defenceman of Year". Ontario Hockey League. April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  17. ^ "CHL Announces 2012-13 Award Winners". Memorial Cup. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  18. ^ "2013-14 AHL All-Rookie Team announced". American Hockey League. April 2, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
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