Ryan Joseph Vesce (born April 7, 1982) is an American 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 h ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played 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) with 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 ...

Playing career

Vesce was born in

Lloyd Harbor, New York Lloyd Harbor is a village in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village's population was 3,660. History In 1654, the Matinecock Native Americ ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1995 and 1996

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with

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 c ...

teams from New York. He attended

Portledge School Portledge School is an independent college-preparatory day school located in Matinecock, New York with 414 students in Pre-nursery through 12th grade (2006–2007 school year). History Portledge was founded in 1965 in the Coffin estate in Lo ...

and played high school hockey at

Locust Valley Locust Valley is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2010 census. History The rollin ...

, and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, playing hockey for the Big Red from 2000 until 2004. He served as captain in his senior year and was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

society. After graduation, Vesce played for

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1996, 2008–20 ...

of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

second league

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen team ...

. He returned to North America, and played two seasons in 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) with the Springfield Falcons and Binghamton Senators. He returned to Europe for one season with

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. In 2008, he returned to North America to sign with the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played t ...

of the

organization, where he was the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. He made his NHL debut on February 11, 2009 with San Jose against the

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 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. His first career NHL goal was scored on October 17, 2009 against

Martin Biron Martin Gaston Biron (; born August 15, 1977) is a Canadian American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round (16th overall) of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the first half of his 16-year ...

of the New York Islanders. On June 28, 2010 he again crossed the ocean and signed a two-year deal with Russian team, Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod, of the Kontinental Hockey League. After splitting the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season between Sweden and Finland, on May 29, 2013, Vesce returned to the KHL signing a one-year contract with Croatian team

KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL Medveščak Zagreb ( hr, Klub hokeja na ledu Medveščak Zagreb), also known as KHL Medveščak Mladi, is a Croatian ice hockey club based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the ...

. Vesce spent 6 seasons abroad before returning to North America as a free agent. On September 19, 2016, he signed a professional try-out contract to attend the training camp of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. At the conclusion of training camp and heading into the pre-season, Vesce was released from his try-out with the Oilers on September 28, 2016. Vesce joined Swiss club

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

for the

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss tea ...

in Davos and after the tournament landed a deal with

HC Fribourg-Gottéron HC Fribourg-Gottéron is a professional ice hockey team based in Fribourg, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). The team is the sixth most attended team in Switzerland for the 2015/16 season with 6,156 spectators. History The ...

of the NL on January 18. Vesce remained in Switzerland for the following 2017–18 season, agreeing to terms with

EHC Olten EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...

of the lower tiered

Swiss League The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, t ...

(SL). He appeared in just 10 games with Olten before leaving the club and effectively retiring from professional hockey due to lingering concussion symptoms.

Personal

In 2006, Vesce co-founded the Salmon Cove lifestyle-inspired clothing line with Cornell hockey teammate Ben Wallace. In 2018, Ryan Vesce and Sean Sullivan opened the firs
Matterhorn Fit
location in Bonita Springs, Florida. After great success, Matterhorn Fit opened its second location in Naples, Florida, in 2021. Matterhorn Fit’s elite sports training facility was founded with the mission to restore and empower active lifestyles through the same holistic healing and performance process used by the world’s best athletes. Their professional trainers are passionate about helping people feel their best physically, mentally, and emotionally. Their unique proprietary process, known as th
Matterhorn Fit Method
helps individuals alleviate pain, remove compensation in their system, and build resilience to future injury. Matterhorn Fit Bonita Springs and Naples fitness centers offer chronic pain relief, rehabilitation, personal training, and elite training to Olympians, professional athletes, and thousands of active individuals across Southwest Florida. In 2020, Ryan Vesce Co-Founded Th
Matterhorn Fit All-Ivy Showcase
designed to provide academically focused D1 prospects with direct access to the best universities in the world. The event offers deep value for NCAA coaches, athletes, families, and fans through unprecedented access, information, exposure, and feedback. Ryan Vesce also Co-Founded, Th
Matterhorn Fit All-Ivy Futures
a premier event organized to provide exposure, information, and a pipeline for the top young athletes in North America to reach the next level. In 2022, Ryan Vesce co-founded th
Matterhorn Mentors
platform to develop youth athletes into successful human beings by surrounding them with the influences and perspectives of some of the highest achievers in the Matterhorn network.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1982 births American expatriate sportspeople in Belarus American men's ice hockey centers Binghamton Senators players Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey players HC Dinamo Minsk players Espoo Blues players Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia HC Fribourg-Gottéron players HIFK (ice hockey) players Ice hockey players from New York (state) KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Living people EHC Olten players People from Huntington, New York Rögle BK players San Jose Sharks players Skellefteå AIK players Springfield Falcons players Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players Undrafted National Hockey League players Worcester Sharks players {{US-icehockey-player-stub