With the 2021 NHL Entry Draft rapidly approaching, going back 15 years to 2006, the New England class wasn’t able to have a substantial and lasting impact.
Waltham, Mass., native Brian Strait went on to play the most games in the NHL (187) after being the second pick of the third round at 65th overall. However, the first New England player drafted that year was Joey Ryan. The 48th  overall selection of the Los Angeles Kings in the second round, Ryan didn't make it to the show.
Ryan, from Malden, Mass., was a hard-nosed, 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman who passed on prep hockey to instead go the major junior route in Quebec. The late ’87-born Malden High and Valley Junior Warriors star was selected by the Gatineau Olympiques in the 2003 QMJHL Midget draft, but he was traded to the Quebec Remparts the same day. He was personally mentored by Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy while playing major junior and developed into an intriguing draft prospect with his pro-style game.
A mobile and tough defense-first type, Ryan’s play reminded some at the time of the draft of a young Adam Foote. A run to the 2006 Memorial Cup championship helped elevate Ryan’s draft stock higher than many expected, but it was a bit of a surprise that he came off the board ahead of Strait.
Ryan, who as a player who had all the attributes to succeed in the NHL, including size, mobility, toughness and character, battled injuries and wasn’t able to establish himself as a high-level pro, appearing in just 44 career AHL contests. He played a little under 200 ECHL games from 2008-13 before retiring from hockey out of the Toledo Walleye organization. Now 33, Ryan lives in Peabody, Mass., with his wife and three children and is coaching minor hockey in the Saugus-based Boston Americans organization.
"Ryan is one of those players you look at who should have had more pro success and just didn't," said one NHL scout who evaluated him during the 2005-06 season. "He was so tough to play against, had a big role in that Memorial Cup season for the Remparts, and he scored a bit for them on that run, too. For whatever reason, the injuries or whether he couldn't put all of the positive attributes together, he didn't ever get close to the NHL."
Strait, the captain of the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 squad in 2005-06, was Boston University-bound after helping USA win gold at the Under-18 tournament. Although he was mobile and smart, scouts at the time felt he lacked the offensive dimension in his game to be a first-round selection and projected more as a solid support player as a pro. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft choice was a Northfield-Mount Hermon product and spent three seasons with the Terriers, turning pro in 2009.
He played in the NHL from 2010-17, appearing in 187 career games with the Penguins, New York Islanders and Winnipeg Jets, with six goals and 31 points and 91 minutes in penalties. Strait was a capable, stable bottom-pairing NHL defender who had a run of 151 games with the Islanders from 2013-16 but never developed into the high-minute, two-way impact player on the second pair that he was projected to be. He finished his pro career in 2018-19 playing in the AHL with the Binghamton Devils.
Winger Jon Rheault (Deering, N.H.), a standout with the EJHL’s New Hampshire Junior Monarchs and Providence College, was drafted by Philadelphia 145th overall. The two-way energy forward toiled in the minor leagues for five seasons after turning pro, earning a five-game scoreless stint with the Florida Panthers in 2012-13. He went on to have a solid European pro career in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and England before calling it quits in 2020.
A pair of Massachusetts forwards were selected in the seventh round and went on to play NHL games. Benn Ferriero (Essex) was chosen by Phoenix with the 196th pick, while John McCarthy (Andover) went six spots later at 202. Ferriero put up 16 goals with Boston College as a true freshman that year, then went on to finish his eligibility at BC. He signed with San Jose after the Coyotes allowed him to become a free agent, splitting his rookie pro season between the NHL and the AHL with the Worcester Sharks. A skilled offensive scorer who had trouble staying healthy, Ferriero went on to play 98 NHL games with the Sharks, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks (14-9-23), playing his final pro season with the Providence Bruins in 2015-16.
McCarthy was drafted out of BU and was a member of the 2009 NCAA champion Terriers squad. He played 88 NHL games, all with the Sharks (88 games, 3-3-6), and spent most of his pro career with the organization, playing more than 500 AHL games with Worcester and the San Jose Barracuda.
Will O’Neill, the final New Englander drafted in 2006 by Atlanta with the 210th overall selection, played one NHL game with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018. The Boston-bred defenseman who spent four seasons at the University of Maine after winning the 2008 USHL Clark Cup with the Omaha Lancers played seven minor league seasons in the AHL with St. John’s, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Lehigh Valley before his one-game call-up.
The most successful player with New England ties in the draft was now Lewiston Maineiacs goaltender Jonathan Bernier. The 11th overall pick out of the defunct QMJHL franchise has a solid career .913 save percentage and 161 wins in 394 NHL games with Los Angeles, Toronto, Anaheim, Colorado and Detroit. Although never developing into the top goaltender many thought he was on draft day, the Laval, Que., native has developed into a consistent and capable mid-tier starter and higher-end backup.
Overall, there wasn’t much staying power in the New England class of ’06. Strait was New England Hockey Journal’s top-ranked prospect going in and ended up having the most success of any player, albeit in a limited role. It just goes to show you that being drafted in the NHL is one thing, but making it to the highest level is quite another.
Staying there and making a long career in the NHL is the toughest challenge of all.
