| Ryan Clark |
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9th-Round NHL Draft Pick
(N.Y. Islanders, '97)
Imposing 6-4, 230-pound veteran who is looking for strong final season, as only senior member of a young Irish defense that includes one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen ... noted for physical play, bonecrunching hits and a tough shot from the blue line ... also should be the leader of the Irish penalty kill in 2000-01 ... a quiet but punishing force who came on strong in his first season before seeing his second campaign cut short by injury ... returned in 1999-2000 from shoulder injury that sidelined him most of the ’98-’99 season ... known for his sound defensive skill and presence on the ice ... one of four Notre Dame players selected in ’97 National Hockey League draft, going in ninth round to the New York Islanders ... part of just the second foursome of Notre Dame players ever selected in first nine rounds of the same NHL draft, joining class of 2000 forwards Ben Simon (5th round, Chicago) and Joe Dusbabek (7th round, San Jose) and classmate Jay Kopischke, a forward (8th round, Los Angeles Kings) ... one of five NHL draft picks on 2000-01 Irish squad, with the others being junior centers David Inman and Brett Henning (a ninth-round pick of the Islanders in ’99 whose father Lorne is associate head coach of the Islanders) and sophomore defenseman Evan Nielsen ... competed in the ’97 national junior tournament, after leading the Lincoln Stars to the United States Hockey League title ... one of nine current Irish players who are products of the USHL ... had plenty of pre-college experience playing in front of big crowds, as the Stars annually average more than 5,000 fans per game ... one of a handful of Colorado preps ever selected in the NHL draft ... one of only eight players 6-4 or taller to letter with the Irish hockey program ... had the chance to play at two events in his home state during 1999-2000 season: the IceBreaker Tournament and the Norwest Denver Cup, on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (both at Denver’s Magness Arena) ... the only players taller than him in Irish hockey history have been 6-6 defenseman Davide dal Grande (’92-’96), 6-5 defenseman Greg Hudas (’82-’83) and 6-5 winger Kevin Nugent (’74-’78) ... combined with 6-4 senior center Craig Hagkull in 1998-99 as third pair of Notre Dame hockey letterwinners on the same team who were 6-4 or taller ... four of his 10 career points versus CCHA teams have come versus Ferris State (1G-3A) ... fifth Colorado native to letter for the Irish hockey program, following goaltender Al Haverkamp (Denver, ’84-’85), wingers Rick Kennedy (Littleton, ’84-’85) and Steve Whitmore (Aspen, ’84-’86) and goaltender Eric Berg (Evergreen, ’95-’97) ... noteworthy former Irish players to wear No. 17 include forwards Ted Weltzin (‘76-’80, 34G-45A, 99 GP) and Tim Harberts (’93-’97, 45G-49A, 137 GP) ... could face three of his former Lincoln Stars teammates in 2000-01 season: Bowling Green defenseman Louis Mass, Western Michigan center Chad Kline and Michigan forward Josh Langfeld.
CAREER NOTES: Appeared in 88 of Notre Dame’s 121 games during his first three seasons, with two goals, 11 assists and 54 penalties (108 minutes) ... part of a senior class that has played in three CCHA first-round playoff series that were extended to the maximum three games (plus a 2000 trip to the CCHA semifinals).
AS A JUNIOR: Part of a veteran defense that included four seniors, among them four-year starters Nathan Borega, Tyson Fraser and Sean Molina, plus Sean Seyferth ... combined with that foursome and freshman Evan Nielsen to form the usual starting six (that group had combined for 610 career games, heading into the CCHA semi-finals) ... appeared in 36 of 42 games, with one goal, three assists (one which set up a game-winner), a -3 plus-minus, 29 shots and 30 penalties for 60 minutes (both second-most on team, behind Borega’s 35/70) ... combined with the 6-2, 225-pound Borega to give Irish one of the CCHA’s top pairs of bruising defensemen ... skated with Nielsen in 30 games, including 21 of the last 22 ... part of a unit that featured the same defensive pairings from New Year’s Eve through the CCHA semifinals, spanning 22 games (except for a Feb. 19 game at Bowling Green, when Clark did not play due to injury) ... the other pairings during that season-ending stretch included Borega-Molina and Fraser-Seyferth ... assisted on Ryan Dolder goal to forge 3-2 game, in season-opening 5-3 loss to Michigan ... supplied primary assist in biggest regular-season win of the season, 1-0 over Michigan State ... sent a shot from the left point in that game, with Dolder swooping in to score the rebound goal with 5:04 left to play ... fittingly scored his first goal of the season–and second of his career–just miles from his hometown of Littleton, Colo., after netting a goal on a rising shot from the slot, in 3-3 tie at the University of Denver on New Year’s Eve ... his shot from the left point helped set up Andy Jurkowski goal that tied first game of CCHA playoffs series with Ferris State (3-3) early in the third period (the Irish won, 4-3).
AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in just 14 games before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season ... had one goal and two assists while tying for fifth on team with a +5 plus-minus rating ... whistled for 13 penalties (26 minutes) ... appeared in first 12 games–skating primarily with senior Benoit Cotnoir–before missing two games with shoulder problems ... made brief return for early December series at Ohio State, before missing final 22 games ... his only goal of the season put Irish ahead of Ferris State, 2-1, midway through the second period (Notre Dame won, 5-3) ... assisted on Simon’s empty-net goal in 3-0 win over Ohio State ... set up Brian Urick’s goal 18 seconds into the second period for 3-1 lead at then-No. 1 Boston College (the Eagles rallied for 5-5 tie).
AS A FRESHMAN: Appeared in 38 of 41 games, missing the Nov. 1 game at Michigan State (after tough 5-1 loss to the Spartans the night before), the next game versus Bowling Green and the March 5 game versus Michigan ... recorded six assists and 21 shots on goal while totaling just 11 penalties (22 minutes), despite his physical play ... had midseason stretches of 12 and eight games without a single penalty ... registered first point on an assist in last-minute loss at Miami (5-4), after combining with Simon to set up Dusbabek’s goal that gave the Irish a 2-0 lead ... five days later, he assisted on a goal by Kopischke that ignited rally from a 2-0 deficit to forge a 5-5 tie with Ferris State ... set up a Troy Bagne goal in 5-1 win over Brown ... had three assists in his final seven regular-season games ... set up Aniket Dhadphale power-play goals in 7-1 win over Ferris State and 5-3 loss to Ohio State ... assisted on 4-on-4 Dhadphale goal for 3-0 lead in eventual 5-2 series sweeping win over Northern Michigan ... skated with Borega during the three-game CCHA playoff series at Michigan.
PREP & PERSONAL: Played three years of lacrosse at Arapahoe High School, while participating in junior hockey with Team Colorado ... led the Lincoln (Neb.) Stars to the 1997 USHL Clark Cup title ... posted seven goals and 14 assists in ’97 season while leading the Stars in plus-minus ... participated in ’95-’96 USHL all-star game ... selected in the ninth round of ’97 NHL draft by the New York Islanders ... born Oct. 30, 1977, in Edmonton, Alberta ... son of Walter and Marion Clark ... full name is Ryan S. Clark ... a marketing and computer applications major in the Mendoza College of Business.
Career vs. CCHA
| Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Alaska Fair. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferris State | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Lake Superior | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan St. | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Neb. Omaha | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. Michigan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| W. Michigan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 71 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
1999-2000 vs. CCHA
| Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Alaska Fair. | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ferris State | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lake Superior | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michigan St. | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Neb. Omaha | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Clark's Career Statistics
| Year | GP | G | A | Pts | Shots | Sh Pct. | P/Min | PPG | SHG | GWG | +/- | |
| 1997-98 | 38 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 21 | .000 | 11/22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10 |
| 1998-99 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13 | .077 | 13/26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +5 |
| 1999-00 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 29 | .034 | 30/60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| Totals | 88 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 63 | .032 | 54/108 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8 |
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Clark's Career Bests
3 Shots On Goal
Three Times
Note: has yet to record a multi-point game or consecutive games with a point.
