Dutchmen snag commitment from Ryan

by Ryan Fay

Tabor Academy senior defenseman Michael Ryan has committed to the Union men's hockey team, multiple outlets tweeted Thursday.

Ryan

A representative for GDA Hockey told Union Hockey Blog that Ryan is expected to play a year of juniors in 2016-17 before joining the Dutchmen in either 2017-18 or 2018-19. GDA Hockey is a family advisor group that represents Ryan.

The 18-year-old was Tabor's top scoring defenseman last season with four goals and 10 assists in 29 games. Prior to Tabor, the 5-foot-11, 165-pounder spent two seasons at the New Hampton School, where he posted four goals and 28 assists in 60 career games.

"Michael is an extremely skilled defenseman with lots of offensive talent," Tabor head coach Gerald Dineen told Union Hockey Blog. "He is a tremendous skater with strong puck skills and incredible athleticism. He grew a ton as a player last season and has a lot of upside due to his skill set and skating ability. He will be one of the cornerstones of our talented [defensive] corps this season and should be an impact guy in our league. I am thrilled that he is headed to Union."

Ryan, a native of Atlanta, is the second defenseman picked up by Union in the last couple weeks. The Dutchmen also secured a commitment from Omaha AAA Lancers 16U defenseman Fletcher Fineman. He isn't expected to arrive until 2018-19.

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