Ryan Nie (born April 15, 1985) 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
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
.
Career
Nie started his professional career with the
Kalamazoo Wings
The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...
of the
UHL, signing with the team prior to the 2006-07 season as a backup to former longtime
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...
goaltender
Tom Askey
Thomas Arthur Askey (born October 4, 1974) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as their eighth-round pick, #186 overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Askey spent ...
. While Askey saw the majority of the team's starts, it was Nie who led the team with a league-record 2.02 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Nie ended up taking over the starting duties during the postseason, leading the K-Wings to the UHL Finals and posting a 2.73 goals-against average over 19 games. Upon the completion of the season, Nie was named to the UHL All-Rookie Team
The following season, Nie signed with the
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when that ...
of the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
. He was named ECHL goaltender of the week twice during the season: the week of October 22–28, 2007 and the week of March 24–30, 2008. He was also briefly signed to a PTO contract by the
Providence Bruins
The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...
on November 25, 2007,
[http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/nie.html HockeyGoalies.org: Ryan Nie biography] playing in one game and allowing two goals in forty-three minutes of game time in relief of Bruins' goalie Mike Brown. Nie was released from his PTO contract on November 28, 2007. Nie went 29-12-4 with the Chiefs, breaking the former record held by former Chiefs' goaltenders
Stan "Smokey" Reddick (1991–92) and
Frederic Deschênes
Frederic "Freddie" Deschênes (born January 12, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.
Juniors
Deschênes started his career in the QMJHL as a member of the Granby Bisons, who were later known as the Prédateurs. As a m ...
(2001–02).
Nie spent the 2008-09 season in the ECHL but split time between three teams: the
Bakersfield Condors
The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home g ...
,
Elmira Jackals
The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena.
On ...
before completing the season with the
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Cen ...
. Nie led the Cyclones to the conference Finals but lost the series 4-0 to the eventual
Kelly Cup
The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...
champions
South Carolina Stingrays
The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...
.
Nie started the 2009-10 season as a member of the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
training camp before being sent to San Jose's
AHL affiliate in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. Nie was eventually assigned to Kalamazoo; the same team he started his professional career with, except that Kalamazoo was now a member of the ECHL. Nie would be recalled by several teams during the 2009-10 season (
Portland Pirates
The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...
, Worcester Sharks, and the
Houston Aeros), but Nie would only see ice time during one of the recalls. On February 5, 2010, Nie signed a PTO contract with the Houston Aeros due to the injury of Aeros' goaltender
Josh Harding
Joshua Joel Harding (born June 18, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota Wild.
Playing career
Harding played three seasons of junior hockey in the Western ...
. The following night, Nie started in goal for the Aeros but surrendered five goals on nineteen shots. Nie was released from his PTO contract the following day and returned to Kalamazoo for the remainder of the season. Nie returned to the Wings and led the team in wins (28) and shutouts (3). At the conclusion of the regular season, Nie was named the Kalamazoo Gazette's 2009-10 Most Valuable Player.
Nie signed an extension with the Wings on August 10, 2010,
returning to the club for a third season. Nie was loaned to the
Binghamton Senators
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
on December 29, 2010. Nie dressed as a backup for two games but did not play. He was released from his PTO contract on January 6, 2011. Nie returned to the Wings and once again led the team in games played (52), goals against (2.80), and set a personal best in regular season wins (30). At the conclusion of the season, Nie was named the Wings Most Valuable Player. Nie led the Wings to the Kelly Cup finals, but would eventually lose to the
Alaska Aces four games to one.
On June 20, 2011, Nie agreed to a one-year contract with
Lillehammer IK
Lillehammer Ishockeyklubb is an ice hockey club based in Nestan, Norway and playing in the GET-ligaen. Home games are played in Eidsiva Arena (Kristins Hall), and occasionally in Håkons Hall.
History
Founded on 2 November 1957, Lillehammer IK ...
of the Norwegian
GET-ligaen
Eliteserien, known as Fjordkraftligaen due to sponsorship, is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the tw ...
. In an interview held by the team, Nie said talked to a former teammate who had played in Norway and said it was a good experience and recommended it to him.
He had his contract renewed for the following, 2012-13 season.
In 2013, Nie had a short stint with
Beibarys Atyrau
Beibarys Hockey Club ( kk, «Бейбарыс» хоккей клубы), commonly referred as Beibarys Atyrau, are a professional ice hockey team based in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. They were founded in 2009, and play in the Pro Hokei Ligasy, the top le ...
of Kazakhstan and then headed to Germany: In January 2014, he signed with
DEL2
DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the '' Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (DEL) and ahead of the '' Oberliga''. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct '' 2nd Bundesliga'', DEL2 is administered by ESBG, u ...
side
Eispiraten Crimmitschau
ETC Crimmitschau, also known as Eispiraten Crimmitschau, is an ice hockey team in Crimmitschau, Germany. They currently play in DEL2
DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the '' Deutsche Eishockey ...
.
After three and a half years with ETC Crimmitschau, Nie moved to the UK to sign for
Elite Ice Hockey League
The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...
(EIHL) side
Braehead Clan
Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') is a Scotland, Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshir ...
in June 2017
for what was his final season before retiring.
Personal
*Nie's favorite player is former
NHL
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 ...
goaltender
Andy Moog
Donald Andrew Moog (; born February 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moog played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and also for the C ...
, but has admitted that he chose his number #35 due to
Tom Barrasso
Thomas Patrick Barrasso (born March 31, 1965) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons. He began his time in the NHL with the Buffalo ...
.
*Nie has a fiancé (Allison) and a dog (Lewis).
*In the offseason, Nie works for a local concrete company as a driver.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nie, Ryan
1985 births
Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015) players
Beibarys Atyrau players
Binghamton Senators players
Braehead Clan players
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players
ETC Crimmitschau players
Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players
Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Johnstown Chiefs players
Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) players
Kalamazoo Wings (UHL) players
Lillehammer IK players
Living people
Plymouth Whalers players
Worcester Sharks players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Scotland
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Norway
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States