How a 'metamorphosis' turned Ryker Lee into one of the NHL's most gifted prospects

MINNEAPOLIS One of the first times Adam Nightingale went to watch Ryker Lee, he was a wee little 14-year-old, his stick was spray-painted black and he was doing all these stickhandling moves.

Nightingale took to calling him The Wizard.

A few years later, the nickname has stuck.

Hes also now a first-round pick of the Nashville Predators and a big part of a sterling freshman class for Nightingales Michigan State program, joining the Spartans with fellow first-rounders Cayden Lindstrom and Porter Martone and second-rounder Eric Nilson.

Advertisement This week, all four of them are in Minneapolis at Ridder Arena playing games in the World Junior Summer Showcase.

In the tournaments opening game between USA White and Finland, he picked up two goals and an assist.

He opened the scoring on a pretty give-and-go with Bruins first-rounder James Hagens, added a second to make it 4-2 early in the third period and then passed up the hat trick to find fellow Predators prospect Teddy Stiga for the empty-netter.

In Mondays second game against Sweden, he had and created several more looks and was moved from the second power play to the first.

To get here, Lee has undergone what his old Shattuck St.

Marys coach Tom Ward calls an absolute metamorphosis in his world and his life over the last five years because of his growth.

Four years ago, when Lee arrived at Shattuck for his bantam year, he was 5-foot-3 and Ward said like 68 pounds.

Bruins prospect Will Zellers, one of his teammates on that Shattuck team, guessed that he was like 5-foot and maybe 95 pounds when he first met him.

He was a bone rack, Ward said.

Oh man, he was a little guy.

When he started his U16 season at Shattuck three years ago, he was still just 5-foot-6.

He was 5-foot-7 when he committed to Michigan State.

In his U18 year at Shattuck under Ward, he registered 45 goals and 99 points in 57 games (second on a loaded team of future NHL picks as a young 2006 playing mostly with 2005s), and another two points in two games with the USHLs Madison Capitols at seasons end, earning him a spot on Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he registered one point in five games.

That was enough to earn him a B rating on NHL Central Scoutings preliminary players to watch list, which indicates a 2nd/3rd round candidate.

Advertisement At the start of his draft year, hed shot up to 5-foot-11.5.

He then won the USHLs Rookie of the Year Award, scoring 31 goals and 68 points in 58 games with the Capitols, both fourth in the league.

He led Madison in goals and points by nine apiece and registered another six points in six playoff games, also tops on the team.

At the midseason mark, he was named Player of the Game at the 2025 Chipotle All-American Game, scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 win with 4:54 left.

At the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, they measured him at 6-foot-0.25 and 185 pounds.

I think in the last 24 to 36 months he has grown like 8-10 inches, Ward said.

Through it one growth spurt after another he climbed the ranks, rising to No.

40 on NHL Central Scoutings midterm ranking of North American skaters and then again to No.

28 on their final list.

The Predators called his name with the 26th pick.

Despite the newfound height, hes still got the wizardry he had to learn as a little guy, too.

Capitols head coach and general manager Andy Brandt says Lees stick skills are at a different level.

Stick.

Brain.

Off the charts, Michigan State associate head coach Jared DeMichiel said earlier this year.

What can I say? That kid is one of the most skilled offensive players with the puck on his stick, Zellers said Sunday night.

The things he does and tries in games, and pulls them off successful, Ive never seen anything like it.

He is one of a kind.

And that guys got a good goal-scoring touch too.

Hes a special player.

And he has grown and still kept that hand-eye and that skill in his toolbox.

I mean, its pretty special.

The skys the limit for that type of player like him.

Now Lee is trying to show that hes more than just his hands.

The two most common things scouts have talked about when theyve talked about Lee over the last couple of years are, first, his hands and second, that his skating needed to improve.

When he arrived at Shattuck, Ward said he was a little heavy-footed and kind of a thumper.

You could feel him coming behind you, Ward said.

Advertisement Part of that was the constant growing and the reality that things hadnt fallen into place for him yet.

In Madison, Brandt set him up with their skating coach, Amy Claggett.

Claggett would skate with the team once a week, and Lee another time.

They worked on lengthening his stride to match his longer legs, his efficiency with his arm movement and also moving his feet more and the puck quicker and trusting that hed get it back.

Lee said he enjoyed picking her brain about things that he could take into practice.

Once the growth spurts slowed and three inches a year turned to one inch a year, his skating really started to come, and the results showed.

In the agility testing for the prospects at the Chipotle All-American Game, he ranked near the top.

It was something that he worked on, that he was mindful of, and its something that hes continuing to grow into, Brandt said of Lees skating.

He has continued to adapt to his growth while continuing to work on his skating.

Just in a year, his foot speed improved noticeably.

Last season, he also worked hard with Madisons strength and conditioning coach Jason Johnson.

Together, they didnt just maintain his weight in season (usually the goal), but actually managed to add five pounds.

The coaching staff at MSU noticed it right away (that he was thicker in the shoulders and filling out) when he arrived on campus following Predators development camp earlier this summer.

The results showed in the testing at the NHL Scouting Combine, too.

He finished first in vertical jump (with a standing vertical jump of 25.67 inches), 13th in the no arm vertical jump, 10th in left-hand grip (151 pounds) and tied for 14th in pullups with 12.

I get his skating needs to come, but look out, DeMichiel said.

I dont think hes done growing either.

Unreal kid, too.

Great energy to him.

He adores the game.

Advertisement He has also always been a competitive little guy, according to Ward, which has helped him mitigate against his size and skating at different points in his career.

Ward said that Shattuck actually got lucky that he was as small as he was because the players who have his skill and also more physical stature at an early age have everybody in the world wanting them.

It was a blessing that he started out as a little guy.

And now that hes moving on out into the big, real hockey world, he has been blessed again, and he has had a growth spurt.

Because hes not afraid of the gym, Wars said.

Hes a strong kid, a farmer strong kid.

Hes wiry strong.

He can hold his own, and he can hang.

Hes a good athlete.

Hes got good explosiveness.

And hes losing his heavy feet.

Now that hes getting stronger in his legs and his core, he can lift them up, and set them down, and get back, and cut and stop and start.

Because of that development, Ward said Nightingale and his staff are now the lucky ones.

(Nightingale) has got a good player.

And hes a wonderful kid.

He gets it.

Like the tortoise does win the race and he has just had to stick with it, Ward said.

Hes just a rink rat, throwback kind of kid.

If he could be up at the rink all day long, whether its on the ice or just in the dressing room, or training, or laughing, or just shooting the breeze with his buddies, he would be.

Hes just a rat, and in the greatest, most affectionate, most competitive way.

(Hes) a really good teammate, and he plays his ass off, and he has finally grown.

And Im so happy for him because he is a completely different person.

The Predators will be the next lucky ones.

I was telling all of the guys from the (NHL) when they were calling and asking questions about him, if you dont take him when you have the chance to take him, youre going to be kicking yourself in four or five years because this kids going to be ripping it up, Ward said.

Advertisement In that way, Ward thinks Lees metamorphosis actually helped his development because its almost a curse if youre a young kid and youre already the fastest skater or the biggest kid and you dont develop things in your game that are nuanced-based that are in your brain and your soul.

He came into his love of the game as a little guy and learned how to manipulate his way through the trees, Ward said.

And now hes a good, big average-sized kid, and he can handle his own, and Im sure hes loving being on the other side of a few checks here.

Ask Brandt and Ward what theyll remember most about coaching Lee, and they both start with how much fun it was and how hardworking he was.

Right from when Ryker stepped onto the ice, we knew his approach every day, Ward said.

We do skills every day, and when he gets on the ice and its his turn, he takes every rep serious.

He can also challenge players in one-on-one situations or small-area games, but he makes it fun.

Hes got a contagious attitude that he brings to the rink, and its one of work ethic, but also one that he truly enjoys doing what he does.

But they always come back to his hands.

For Brandt, its the way he does it all with his head up.

And he said Lees edges while handling dont get talked about enough, either.

He can cut on a dime and use his body and torque his body in different ways, Brandt said.

He can still skate, he can still make a play, all while having the puck on a string.

And as a defender, thats hard because if you make a wrong read, its a dangerous thing when hes got his head up.

And then he also loves to shoot it, so as a goaltender, youre never sure if hes going to pass or shoot it, and his deceptiveness adds to his stick skills.

For Ward, its the absurdity of the way he always finds his way in and out of the tightest cracks in coverage.

Even on a team with guys such as Zellers, the reigning USHL Player of the Year, and Aidan Park, a draft pick of the Oilers known for his hands, it was Lee who was The Wizard.

Advertisement You could put three of us, four of us, in a phone booth and wed never touch the puck, Ward said.

Hes got that ability.

And he can wire it, too.

Like he can shoot it and hes not afraid to score.

Hes not one of these guys that is just enamored with stickhandling.

Hes just as enamored with scoring.

Ask Lee where his hands come from, and he says its twofold.

They were honed with hard work in his basement, but they were also a necessity of his reality as a smaller player.

I had to learn how to be smarter and put myself in good positions, Lee said.

With his new size, hes learning to use his body more as well.

Between development camp with the Preds and the World Junior Summer Showcase, he has also been in East Lansing working out with Michigan States strength and conditioning coach Will Morlock, who he said was one of the main reasons he and others are now choosing the Spartans.

Ive been working with him ever since I got on campus, and the workouts have been hard, but thats exactly what I need, and he kind of caters everything to what you need specifically, Lee said.

After a strong start at the World Junior Summer Showcase, hes excited to continue to show USA Hockey the progress he has made this fall and that hes more than just his hands with his sights set on making the team in December.

Obviously, I have an offensive game and I can bring offense to this team, but I also want to prove that I can outwork opponents and play in all situations for them, he said.

(Photo of Ryker Lee: Madison Capitols / Rosenau Photography).

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