Winterton Time in Denver

For a 20-year-old, Ryan Winterton has endured more than his share of adversity coming up the ranks of major junior hockey. So when he started his first pro season with American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley not securing any points in the Firebirds’ first three games, the Kraken’s 2021 third-round draft choice (67th overall) was unfazed.

“He played very well in those games,” says Dan Bylsma, the Coachella Valley head coach who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2009 and steered his CVF squad to within one overtime goal from winning the AHL’s Calder Cup last spring. “He was creating opportunities, lots of really good chances. He was shaking his head wondering how and why pucks didn’t go in.”

Bylsma was not surprised when Winterton strung together a three-game goal streak in the next three games for the Firebirds, now 6-2 on the year after a 4-2 home win over the San Diego Gulls Wednesday night. Coachella Valley sports a winning percentage that ranks second in the 32-team AHL.

‘Winny’ plays to his identity,” says Bylsma. “He is a scrappy, forechecking ‘gamer’ type of player.”

On Wednesday night, Bylsma, who played 429 NHL games as a forward and parts of eight seasons in the AHL, said he was caught off-guard about Winterton’s call-up: “Some of my greatest memories as a coach is giving that call. So yep, it was a surprise at 1:58 [Wednesday afternoon] when the phone rang that there was going to be a call-up, but the call to Winterton was one of my best. He was completely shocked and overjoyed and you could feel the emotion go through his brain like, I'm getting called up, holy Christmas, I'm going to the National Hockey League! It's one I'll never forget.”

Lesley and Garth Winterton were equally and happily surprised when their son called with the good news Wednesday, prompting a trip to the Rockies. They were awaiting a flight from Toronto to Denver Thursday mid-day when mom Lesley texted their level of astonishment.

“Yes, this was definitely a huge surprise,” said Lesley Winterton. “We were hoping it would happen for him at some point, obviously, but this certainly beats any timeline we had envisioned. LOL.”

For the Firebirds, Winterton earned his first pro point during an 8-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in late October. The 6-2, 190-pound forward created a turnover with a strong stick lift on an opponent, freeing the puck to feed it to linemate and fellow Wednesday call-up Shane Wright. Later in the contest, Winterton scored net-front when 2022 first-rounder Wright won a puck battle behind the net, sending it to the crease where Winterton worked in traffic to blade the puck over the goal line.

Winterton’s second CVF goal was an unassisted shorthanded goal during another Firebirds win the next night at San Jose. His third came on a cross-ice setup by Cameron Hughes with Winterton displaying his mid-range scoring touch with a quick-release wrist shot.

There’s a lot to unpack about Winterton’s offensive in those goals. Scouts particularly note that he “makes plays in tight spaces” about young forward (if he was born 11 days later he wouldn’t have been draft-eligible until 2022), but Bylsma says Winterton’s work on the penalty-kill for the Firebirds has been arguably even more impressive.

“We gave him lots of ice time [short-handed] and he’s grasping it,” said Bylsma early in the AHL season. “It’s an area in which he's going to continue to grow to develop in his game and one that could potentially play in the National Hockey League. He’s taking advantage of the opportunity.”

A scoring star in juniors, Winterton worked his way back into playing not once but twice recovering from a shoulder injury and necessary repair procedures. The rehab work was long and at times lonely, per Winterton, but he never wavered in believing he would be back in top form. He proved it in the 2021-22 season when he notched 20 goals and 26 assists for Hamilton of the Ontario Hockey League during the second half of the regular season, then added seven goals and 12 assists in 18 playoff games as Hamilton won the OHL title and advanced to the storied Memorial Cup final four in juniors.

Winterton suffered a second major shoulder injury during Game 6 of the Memorial Cup and once again underwent a grueling rehab program before returning to OHL play.

“I don’t think Ryan could have dealt with it any better,” said Lesley Winterton Thursday. “His mindset has always been strong. He can see the bigger picture.”

After the second rehab, Lesley’s and Garth’s son suited up for the London Knights per a midseason trade. Winterton scored 12 goals and doubled that number in assists for 36 points in 34 games with his new squad. He stayed hot in the postseason with a stat line of 13 goals, and 16 assists for 29 points in 21 games. London’s run for the Memorial Cup fell just short of back-to-back appearances for Winterton when Peterborough (led by Kraken prospect Tucker Robertson, currently a high producer for ECHL affiliate Kansas City) ousted London in a six-game OHL final.

For his part, Winterton said he was still rounding into peak condition during the first 10 games with London last season and “started to hit my stride” in the postseason. Right now, he appears in peak condition after a strong NHL training camp, appearing and earning an assist in a Kraken preseason game and, most recently, heating up in the AHL. Winterton credits the Kraken’s player development for encouraging him throughout both prolonged shoulder rehabs plus providing a training regimen this summer that is paying early-season dividends and drawing notice from fellow Seattle prospects looking to improve their chances of such a future call-up.

GM Ron Francis has remarked in past seasons that he scouted OHL games (in person or video), he was focusing on possible future draft choices but Winterton kept “popping up” making little plays, exhibiting offensive and defensive prowess in all zones. Coach Dave Hakstol took notice, too, particularly during this fall’s training camp. Let’s agree the surprise of the call-up is timing and decidedly not about Winterton’s talent, work ethic, or whether teammates will call him “Winny” (Bylsma’s moniker for him) or “Wints.”

“Wints has worked hard to be here,” said Hakstol Thursday morning. “He's taken all the right steps. He's done a nice job in the American League, off to a good start there. He’s a guy that brings a good two-way game.”

“He’s always reliable in that way. Now, reliability isn't what it's all about. We want to be able to go out and impact the hockey game in a positive way. We feel like he has an opportunity to do that.”