Ryan G. Bayda (born December 9, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former 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 ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played 179 games in 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).

Playing career

Bayda was drafted in the third round, 80th overall by the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

at the tailend of the 2001–02 season, scoring a goal and an assist in three regular season games and also scoring three goals in five playoff games. He made his NHL debut for Carolina during the

2002–03 NHL season The 2002–03 NHL season was the 86th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the New Jersey Devils, who won the best of seven series 4–3 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Regular season The regular se ...

. Bayda scored his first career NHL goal against

Ed Belfour Edward John Belfour (born April 21, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of ...

and 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 ...

on February 18, 2003, in a 4-3 Hurricanes loss. On July 3, 2007, the Hurricanes re-signed Bayda to a one-year, $475,000 contract, a two-way contract which also paid him $100,000 at the AHL level. On July 1, 2008, the Hurricanes re-signed Bayda to a one-year, $475,000 contract for the 2008-09 season. Bayda in his first full NHL season, played in a career-high 70 games and helped the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference finals. During the finals on May 22, 2009, Bayda was fined $2,500 as a result of a match penalty he was assessed for cross-checking

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

defenseman

Kris Letang Kristopher Joseph Pierre Irwin Letang (born April 24, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played ...

in the chin at the end of game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. On September 3, 2009, Bayda was invited to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

training camp for the 2009-10 season. Ryan, however, turned down the offer after the Blues signed forward Derek Armstrong and accepted an invitation to the

training camp instead. On July 12, 2013, after three seasons with the

Nürnberg Ice Tigers The Nürnberg Ice Tigers are a professional ice hockey club located in Nuremberg, Germany. They play in the country's premier league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. History The roots of the team can be traced back to SG Nürnberg, an ice hockey cl ...

of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany, Bayda left as a free agent to join DEL rivals

Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburger EV ...

on a one-year deal. In the following 2014–15 season, Bayda was limited to just 6 games, in which he produced 10 points, due to a serious elbow injury. Bayda as seasons end left as a free agent and signed a one-year contract with fellow DEL club, the Straubing Tigers on March 26, 2015. He retired upon the conclusion of the 2015–16 season with the Straubing Tigers and returned to his home town of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, where he opened a tattoo removal business.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayda, Ryan 1980 births Living people Albany River Rats players Augsburger Panther players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Sportspeople from Saskatoon Lowell Lock Monsters players Manitoba Moose players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Straubing Tigers players Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers players Vernon Vipers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany NCAA men's ice hockey national champions