December 26, 2008
Green Bay's Ryan Furne.
Below is an article that appeared in Let's Play Hockey Magazine featuring Green Bay Gamblers forward Ryan Furne. For more of Let's Play Hockey on the web, click here.
Webster's Dictionary defines a rink rat as "a youth who spends a great deal of time at a hockey rink." Rink rats come in all shapes and sizes. They skate indoors and outdoors, in the winter and in the summer. And despite the definition, a person need not be in their days of youth to qualify as a bona fide rink rat. Take Green Bay's Ryan Furne as Exhibit A, a player who developed his passion for the sport on outdoor rinks in Oakdale.
"I was about three and my dad built a rink in our backyard. We had that until I was about ten," Furne said. "After that, just up the road from our house they built a rink that was a roller rink in the summer and a hockey rink in the winter. I spent a lot of time there. I guess you could say that I was a rink rat."
Furne used those rinks to propel him into a high school hockey career that dreams are made of. He starred his freshman and sophomore years at Tartan High School, before transferring to Hill Murray for his junior and senior years.
"My junior year is when I started to know that I could play at a higher level," Furne said. "When I got to Hill Murray we had some great players on those teams and I realized I wasn't out of place."
He also enjoyed his greatest hockey experience while playing with the Pioneers.
"My freshman year at Tartan we made it to the state tournament. Then we went again the two years I was at Hill Murray, and we won it my senior year," Furne said. "We won our first game and we had to play Roseau in the semifinals. We took a lead on them and ended up beating them and they were favored to win the tournament. After we won that game we knew we were going to beat Edina in the championship.
"You can't describe what it's like to win a high school hockey championship in the state of Minnesota. It's a great feeling, just indescribable."
Following his high school season, the USHL came calling, and he was drafted by the Gamblers in USHL Entry Draft in May.
"It has been great so far. Green Bay is a great place to play. I think we have a great set up here, with the billet families and the Resch Center, which is a great building to play in," Furne said. "We get the best of everything in Green Bay."
Furne is off to a good start in his junior career, scoring nine goals and 16 points through his first 21 games. He is fourth on the team in points and is tied for second in goals.
"All everyone has told this kid is that he can't play at the next level because of his skating. Well, he is on pace to score 30 goals as a rookie in the best league in America and that you can't teach," said Gamblers' Head Coach Jon Cooper.
Still, there is something missing in his Green Bay experience – an outdoor rink.
"I'm looking for an outdoor rink in Green Bay, so I haven't skated outside here yet," Furne said. "But I will skate outside when I get home for break."
Spoken like a true rink rat indeed.
The USHL is celebrating its 30th season of junior hockey in 2008-09. With over 130 players already committed to NCAA Division I schools and 16 NHL Draft picks playing in the league, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.ushl.com.
