Ryan Callahan American hockey player Date of Birth: 21.03.1985 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Junior Career
2. Professional Career with the New York Rangers
3. Breakthrough and Leadership with the Rangers

Early Life and Junior Career

Ryan Callahan was born on March 21, 1985, in Rochester, New York. He played one year of high school hockey at Hilton High School. Callahan's junior hockey career began with the Rochester Junior Americans of the Empire Junior Hockey League, where he spent two seasons from 1999 to 2001. He then moved on to the Syracuse Jr. Crunch and Buffalo Lightning of the Ontario Junior Hockey League before joining the Guelph Storm of the OHL, where he played four seasons alongside future New York Rangers teammate Dan Girardi.

Professional Career with the New York Rangers

In the 2006-07 season, Callahan began his professional career with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was called up to the Rangers on November 28, 2006, and made his NHL debut on December 1, but only played one game before being sent back to the Wolf Pack. He was recalled again on December 19, but once more played just one game. Callahan was recalled for the third and final time on March 15, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 AHL games, and remained with the Rangers for the postseason.

Callahan scored his first two NHL goals two days later, on March 17, 2007, against goalie Joey MacDonald of the Boston Bruins. He got his first assist four days later, and recorded his first career game-winning goal on April 1. Callahan continued his debut season by scoring his first NHL playoff goal in a 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on April 17, 2007, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

After scoring a goal in his first game of the 2007-08 season with the Rangers, Callahan missed a month with a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Upon his return, he failed to regain the form he had shown with the Rangers, going 16 games without scoring a goal. As a result, Callahan was sent back to the Wolf Pack on January 7, 2008. After 11 games with Hartford, he was recalled on February 2 to replace the injured Brendan Shanahan in the Rangers' lineup against the Montreal Canadiens.

Callahan's second NHL stint began in impressive fashion, as he scored two goals against the San Jose Sharks on February 17, 2008. He then scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in regulation, helping the Rangers clinch the Victoria Cup during an exhibition tournament in Switzerland.

Breakthrough and Leadership with the Rangers

The 2008-09 season marked Callahan's breakout campaign. He finished third on the Rangers with 22 goals and fifth on the team with 40 points in the regular season. Callahan was awarded the Rangers' Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for his hard work that season. He scored the game-winning goal in the team's playoff opener at home.

Callahan signed a contract extension with the Rangers on July 13, 2009. He was named an alternate captain on October 2. On January 1, 2010, Callahan was named to the United States Olympic team for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver.