NHL Debut: Ryan Winterton (Nov. 9, 2023)
Former London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs forward Ryan Winterton suited up in his first career NHL game on Thursday night in Denver as the Seattle Kraken skated to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The 20-year-old from Whitby, Ont. skated in seven minutes of action, registering a shot on goal.
Success seemed to follow Winterton throughout his OHL career, but his time in the league wasn’t without its challenges. He missed large portions of both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons dealing with injuries in addition to the lost Covid season of 2020-21, but when he was in the lineup, Winterton was one of the league’s dominant two-way forwards, hoisting the J. Ross Robertson Cup with Hamilton in 2022 before guiding the Knights to the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as Western Conference champions last spring.
Originally Hamilton’s first round (8th overall) pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection, Winterton played in 124 regular season games, recording 44 goals, 61 assists and 105 points. He was an excellent playoff performer, registering 20 goals, 28 assists and 48 points in 39 games along with a plus/minus rating of plus-14.
Seattle selected Winterton in the third round (67th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. He appeared in seven games with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds to start this season, posting five points (3-2–5) in that span.
A night he’ll never forget! 💙🩵
Congrats on your first @NHL career game, Wints! pic.twitter.com/c5mX2hAOmw
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 10, 2023