One-on-One: O'Byrne wants to be like Mike

posted by Kevin Mio at 7h56 EST on Mar 30


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When the Canadiens selected defenceman Ryan O'Byrne in the third round of the 2003 National Hockey League entry draft (79th overall), he was viewed as a long-term project. Judging by the progress he has made so far, the team's project deserves a high grade.

After three seasons at Cornell University, O'Byrne turned pro in 2006, joining the Hamilton Bulldogs for their Calder Cup championship season last year in the American Hockey League.

The Victoria native has progressed rapidly since turning pro and made his NHL debut in December, only to have his rookie season interrupted by a broken thumb he suffered during a fight a few weeks later.

But the 6-foot-5, 228-pounder has come back strong and hasn't looked out of place against NHL competition. He has one goal, four assists, and a plus-4 rating in 30 games, along with 45 penalty minutes, including 15 in last night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Read this week's One-on-One here.




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Submitted by 1010 on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 12:22.

Trying to focus on this year is tough when you think of the possibilities. Komisarek, O'Byrne and this nasty Russian, Valentenko, I keep hearing about. It's gonna' be a long night for teams when they play these guys. It will be real fun to see how they stand up against the big western teams. Especially now that the schedule is going to open up and we'll see more inter-conference games.

GO HABS.


jew4jah's picture
Submitted by jew4jah on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 11:33.

not to beat a dead horse but what about the purse? what's the whole story?


Garbo's picture
Submitted by Garbo on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 12:52.

Charges were dropped.


Submitted by kovyfan on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 14:39.

Are you sure? I thought that was just for Kostopoulos.


Submitted by kovyfan on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 11:36.

I didn't see the hit that got O'Byrne tossed from the game last night - is there any way it could lead to a suspension?


showey47's picture
Submitted by showey47 on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 17:17.

If anything the ref making the call should be suspended for making such a stupid call.


The Teacher's picture
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 13:02.

Yeah, they will retroactively give him 5 games and pay him for that disgrace of a call.

"Are the Habs ready to pay the Price?"


TommyB's picture
Submitted by TommyB on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 09:23.

O'Byrne says:

"It's pretty surreal. You go out on the ice and you're like: 'The guys before me have won 24 Stanley Cups' and you look at the names on the wall and you have a lot to live up to. I think you owe it to them and the organization to play your hardest every night because of all the history."

I think this guy gets it.


The Teacher's picture
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 10:17.

Me too.

At least I HOPE he does :)

"Are the Habs ready to pay the Price?"


Submitted by deeps21 on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 09:20.

This guys been a treat to watch, he says he wants be more like Komo, but he really needs to use his frame more, at least in recent weeks he hasn't. I still can't believe he got a 5 and a game misconduct last night, anyway, I hope we have this guy for a long time, he's only gonna get better with the D core we already have.


Smart Dog's picture
Submitted by Smart Dog on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 09:11.

O'Byrne is a great addition to the team. And smart to be learning from Komi who is becoming a great D-man.

With the Hamr and Marky locked down for a few years if we can keep these new guys around Montreal could become the stingiest team in hockey.

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