Adios, Ryan

Former ECHL All-Star waived

What a difference a year makes. Last season, rookie forward Ryan Cruthers had signed with the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL) and by the new year, he had been named to the American Conference team for the 17th Annual ECHL All-Star Game. Cruthers was leading all ECHL rookies as well as the Sea Wolves with 18 goals and was second among ECHL rookies with 35 points in 29 games and the future never looked brighter.

After scoring three points (1 G, 2 A) in the 11-5 American Conference win, Cruthers went on to finish the season in amazing form. He had been called up to the Lake Erie Monsters and the Albany River Rats of the AHL for a total of nine games with two assists and 10 penalty minutes tallied. With the Sea Wolves, he had scored 66 points (29 G, 37 A) with 72 penalty minutes in 65 games.

On March 30th, the Sea Wolves announced that the organization would be suspending operations again for the 2009–10 season. On September 18th, the Texas Brahmas announced that they had signed Cruthers for the upcoming season. It was an exciting prospect, having a young player of Cruthers' caliber on the team.

Cruthers played in all four games to begin the season with a net gain of seven shots, two penalty minutes and a -2 +/- rating.

On Monday, Cruthers was placed on team suspension. Today, he was waived. Cruthers had already left Texas and though the circumstances of his departure from the team are best left unsaid, it's a shame that this signing didn't bear the fruit that we had expected.

This situation brings to mind the Lance Galbraith signing last season. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Players have expectations. Coaches have expectations. In the end, not everyone is meant to be a Texas Brahma.

Cruthers will probably land back in the ECHL. The Brahmas will move forward. Life and hockey in North Texas go on. Good luck Ryan.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith