PLAYERS BLOG: RYAN ELLIS
BY RYAN ELLIS
It would be impossible to sum up what the last four years in the Windsor Spitfires uniform have meant to me in a one-page paper. However, after reading this, I hope everyone will learn something new about Ryan Ellis that you may not have known before.
First and foremost, coming into this league as young as I did, it would have been near impossible to have the success I have had if it wasn’t for Mickey Renaud.
Mickey was more than just our team’s captain. He set the bar on how to carry yourself on and off the ice, how to lead verbally as well as by example, and how important it was to bring your best game every single night.
Learning from Mickey was one of the most significant reasons for the success I have had to this day. After learning from Mickey, I feel I have given much more to the Windsor Spitfires than just being a good hockey player. Each day I have the same goal in mind – to help each player become not only a better player, but a better person.
One of the things I remember most from Mickey is how much pride he had in wearing the Spitfires jersey. It didn’t matter whether it was playing a game with it on, wearing that logo in practice, or even stopping by a Tim Horton’s in our track suits, every single time he put that Windsor Spitfires crest on everybody could tell how much it meant to him.
That is the biggest characteristic he had that has carried over into my life. There’s not a single day I take for granted, because I am so grateful for all the opportunities Windsor has given to me.
The 2010-2011 season is far from over, but it has already been one of the best years of my life.
I have gained more and more experience this year, that will help me throughout my professional career. We have an extremely young team which I was really excited about, because for the first time in a long time I made a difference in the dressing room as a leader.
Being a positive role model is something I take very seriously. Getting to that next level is something I work tremendously hard for. And this year, my focus is demonstrating exactly what it takes for younger players to get to that next level.
Being ultra-competitive is something that comes naturally to me. I think the biggest thing that a young player sees in my game is I compete hard for my team to win every single night. When the time comes and I graduate from the Windsor Spitfires organization, I hope to see many players following in my footsteps.
Making other players better is something I take a lot of pride in and work to do each day. The focus of our team is winning. If we can cap off a great season with a championship, that would be a storybook ending for an incredible four years here in Windsor.
