St. George's defenseman Ryan Buckley isn’t the most outspoken individual off the ice. He isn’t the flashiest player on it either.
Instead, a steady, reliable demeanor is what makes the Warwick, R.I., native stand out.
“Ryan is a quiet kid by nature in the best of ways,” St. George's head coach Jeff Dwyer said. “He’s one of those guys, when he has something to say, guys listen because he's not a rah-rah guy that's constantly talking. He's very thoughtful."
On the ice, it's much of the same for the rising senior, who relies on a defense-first approach to be effective in all areas of play.
“He’s an old-school defenseman in the sense that he’s very quietly efficient," Dwyer said. "He's been on the power play for us for the past three years because he has that in his toolbox, but I think he's more well known for being a shutdown defenseman, and he makes a great first pass.”
Apparently, first-year Holy Cross head coach Bill Riga and his staff saw the same when scouting the 6-foot, 165-pound blueliner, because, on Aug. 12, Buckley took to social media to pledge his commitment to the Crusaders.
“They saw me play at a couple of tournaments this summer, so they reached out and I went up there and was really blown away,” Buckley, 17, said. "I talked to my family, and it checked a bunch of boxes: it’s a great school, it has a really cool campus and the hockey is great. I love the coaches and I think they're really going to turn the program around.”
Riga, a longtime assistant and associate head coach under Rand Pecknold at Quinnipiac, was hired by the Worcester, Mass., program in May. His arrival, Buckley said, was a contributing factor in his decision to commit there, as well as the opportunity to be a part of his plan to build the program from the ground up.
“He's won everywhere he's gone, and I think he’s going to continue that at Holy Cross, so I'm really excited to be part of it.”
Dwyer, a native of New Canaan, Conn., who has been at the helm of the Middletown, R.I., program since 2013, was ecstatic to hear the news of Buckley's commitment.
“Ryan is one of the highest quality people you will ever meet, so I couldn’t be happier for him,” Dwyer said. “I’ve known Bill for a long time and I'm excited that he saw in Ryan what we've seen in him for a long time. I think other schools are going to see it pretty soon, too.”
At the time of his commitment, Buckley was the fifth player to announce his commitment to Riga and the Crusaders in Atlantic Hockey.
A native of Westborough, Mass., Riga got off to a hot start in his first months on the recruiting trail, reeling in local forwards Coleman Jenkins (Mansfield, Mass.), Dom Murphy (Worcester, Mass.) and Joe Solimine (Middleton, Mass.), as well as California-born defenseman Wes Turner, who announced his commitment the same day as Buckley. A week later, former Phillips Andover blueliner Charlie Spence (Boston, Mass.) pledged his future services to the program.
“Those are definitely a lot of kids I’m familiar with, so I’m really excited about it," Buckley said. "(The staff) has been out hustling in the rinks and it shows.”
Making the most of 2020-21
While some New England prep schools hosted practices and played a number of games last season, Buckley and his St. George's teammates weren’t so lucky. The team got some practices in towards the end of November but did not get to play any games. “That was a real bummer,” Buckley said. In lieu of not having a prep season, most of the team, including Buckley, went remote and played a majority of the season with their local split-season teams.
Buckley played for the Cape Cod Whalers 16-U. He skated in 30 games and totaled nine points on eight assists. He also spent time with the Junior Bruins. While it wasn’t a normal season, the 2004 birth year defenseman came into his own quite a bit over the past 12 months.
“It was a different year for everyone, but because I was remote, I got to practice more and I think that helped my development in the fall,” he said. "I got to practice and play three times a week with kids on the Whalers and we had a great group. There was a lot of talent on that team, so it was cool to practice with those guys.”
The main facet of his game he worked on during the pandemic-impacted campaign was perfecting his steady style of play. He also got stronger and continued to work on his skating.
“I’m a solid, steady defenseman, so (I worked on) minimizing my turnovers and playing a good, safe game,” Buckley said. “I think my edges got a little better and my hands got more refined, as well.”
Gearing up for 2021-22
Going into his senior year, Buckley will be the leader on the back end for a Dragons team that is on a mission to prove itself. Just like it has been for Buckley since he was a freshman, Dwyer said, No. 8 will be the first number over the boards in almost every situation.
“That's why I think coming to St. George’s was great for him because he has played 25-plus minutes per night since he was a true freshman. Lining up against Thayer, Milton, Rivers, St Mark's, as a true freshman, you grow a lot that first year."
Now, approaching year four, Buckley will be one of the top defensemen in the Independent School League. He will do so playing alongside his brothers, returning ’05 Ben Buckley and incoming ‘06 Danny Buckley. “That’s going to be crazy,” the eldest Buckley remarked of playing with his brothers. “I’m really excited about it. We have got a lot of new kids coming in, which is great. I think we’re going to have a really good team and have a good shot at the Eberhart title.”
After the unprecedented nature of the past 18 months, Buckley, who is expected to serve as captain for the Dragons, is eager to return to a sense of normalcy in 2021-22 with his Holy Cross commitment in tow.
“One of the things I love most about St. George’s and playing hockey there is we all walk over to the rink every day, go to practice, come back and eat together,” Buckley said. “I think prep school hockey is really special in that way because you're living with the kids 24/7. It’s like a family, and I’ve really missed that.
"I can’t wait for the season. It’s been way too long."
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
