Ronald Attard (born March 20, 1999) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) as a prospect under contract to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was drafted 72nd overall by the Flyers in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

Early life

Attard was born on March 20, 1999, in

White Lake Township, Michigan White Lake Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Together with its two unincorporated communities, the township makes up part of the Detroit metropolitan area outskirts. As of the 2010 census, the ...

, USA to parents Toms and Sue. He grew up alongside two older sisters; Jessica and Julia.

Playing career

Amateur

Growing up in Michigan, Attard played

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

for the Honeybaked and Victory Honda before being drafted by the

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and Gr ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). During his rookie season with the Storm, Attard announced his commitment to play

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

ice hockey with the

Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey The Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA), Division I college ice hockey program that represents Western Michigan University. The Broncos are a member of the National ...

team. Through the offseason prior to the 2018–19 season, Attard split his training between working out at Western Michigan with former NHL head coach Andy Murray and the Broncos. His offseason coaching caused Attard to endure a breakout season and win both the USHL Player and Defenseman of the Year. During the 2018–19 season, he set a league single-season record for most goals and points by a defenseman with 30 goals and 65 points. On the way to 30 goals, he also recorded a four-goal game, becoming the first USHL defenseman in more than three years to achieve this feat. As a result of his play as team captain, he won both the 2019

Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award The Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award, formerly known as USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year Award, is presented annually to the most outstanding American-born player in junior ice hockey. Chosen by panel of junior coaches and administrat ...

and USHL Defenseman of the Year award. Leading up to the

, Attard was ranked 76th amongst all North American skaters by the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

. He was eventually drafted in the third round, 72nd overall, by the

. Following the NHL Entry Draft, Attard began his freshman season at the

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

which was eventually cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. During the shortened season, he appeared in 30 games, finishing with 14 points, and was the top scoring defenseman on the team. The following year, Attard continued his offensive output and was selected for the AHCA First-Team All-American team and nominated for the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

Professional

Following the completion of his junior season with Western Michigan, Attard concluded his collegiate career in agreeing to immediately join the Philadelphia Flyers for the remainder of the season on a two-year, entry-level contract on March 29, 2022. Four days later, Attard made his NHL debut in the Flyers' 6–3 loss to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. He was subbed in for

Keith Yandle Keith Michael Yandle (born September 9, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers. Yandle was drafted by the Coyotes in the fourt ...

, whose

iron man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

streak ended after a record 989 games. On April 5, Attard recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a goal by

James van Riemsdyk James van Riemsdyk ( ; born May 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2012 and 2018, he played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Van Riemsdyk w ...

in the Flyers' 4–2 loss to the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

International play

Attard was named captain of Team USA at the 2018

World Junior A Challenge The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament showcases Juni ...

, where he helped lead the team to a gold medal win over Russia.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Attard, Ronnie 1999 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American ice hockey defensemen Ice hockey players from Michigan Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Tri-City Storm players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players