Ryan Coots: Reunited as a Leader

I first recruited defenseman Ryan Coots in the summer of 2022 as a 16-year-old to play Tier 3 hockey in Columbia, SC, out of the prestigious Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 16uAAA program. The commitment was that Ryan would come to learn and play against older players, which would help him advance to the tier 2 level faster. Ryan came to our program and immediately bought into our culture, development, and junior hockey's day-to-day lifestyle away from home. 

After one year with our program, where Ryan was voted as an all-star to the league and led our division in ice time by a rookie at the premier level, he signed a tender to go play for the powerhouse Pal Jr. Islanders of the NCDC Tier 2 conference. This was a huge accomplishment for Ryan as a hockey player and a human being who grew so much in his first year away from home. It's important to me that the growth off the ice following the motto "Be Good People" is as evident as the development on the ice. 

After a short stint with us in Columbia, where he served as one of our captains, Ryan was traded from PAL to Provo in the brand-new Mountain West NCDC conference. He immediately began making an impact there running their powerplay as well as playing valuable minutes for them in the pursuit of playoffs. You could already see Ryan adapting to the level like he did with us the previous year in Columbia. This all culminated in Ryan leading Provo in points with 5 in just four games as a defenseman and establishing him as one of the top two-way defensemen in the NCDC. 

When we acquired the roster from Provo, I immediately knew what this meant. That Ryan Coots would be playing for me again. It was almost like the hockey gods wanted to give us the opportunity to redeem our story from the previous two years. Ryan will be taking on a leadership role with us and has already become a big part of the community, leading skill sessions for the youth, participating in Parade Day, and helping our draft picks acclimate to junior hockey life. Ryan Coots, a great hockey player and an even better person, will be our building block here in Casper.