Quick Facts
Biography
Ryan Joseph Vesce (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey center who is currently playing with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League A (NLA). Undrafted, Vesce played hockey in college.
Playing career
Born in Lloyd Harbor, New York, Vesce prepped at Portledge School and played high school hockey at Portledge School in Locust Valley, New York. and attended Cornell University, playing hockey for the Big Red from 2000 until 2004. He served as captain in his senior year and was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. After graduation, Vesce played for Rögle BK of the Swedish second league HockeyAllsvenskan. He returned to North America, and played two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Springfield Falcons and Binghamton Senators. He returned to Europe for one season with HIFK of Helsinki.
In 2008, he returned to North America to sign with the Worcester Sharks of the San Jose Sharks organization, where he has been the team captain. He made his NHL debut on February 11, 2009 with San Jose against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh. His first career NHL goal was scored on October 17, 2009 against Martin Biron of the New York Islanders.
On June 28, 2010 he again crossed the ocean and signed a two-year deal with Russian team, Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod, of the Kontinental Hockey League.
After splitting the 2012–13 season between Sweden and Finland, on May 29, 2013, Vesce returned to the KHL signing a one-year contract with Croatian team KHL Medveščak Zagreb.
Vesce spent 6 seasons abroad before returning to North America as a free agent. On September 19, 2016, he signed a professional try-out contract to attend the training camp of the Edmonton Oilers. At the conclusion of training camp and heading into the pre-season, Vesce was released from his try-out with the Oilers on September 28, 2016.
On January 12, 2017, Vesce signed a PTO contract with HC Davos of the National League A (NLA), but the team decided not to keep him and thus, released him a few days later. He eventually inked a deal with fellow NLA side HC Fribourg-Gottéron six days later.
Personal
In 2006, Vesce co-founded the Salmon Cove lifestyle-inspired clothing line with Cornell hockey teammate Ben Wallace.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Cornell University | ECAC | 33 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Cornell University | ECAC | 35 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Cornell University | ECAC | 36 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Cornell University | ECAC | 27 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Rögle BK | Allsv | 43 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 80 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 90 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | HIFK | SM-l | 56 | 26 | 18 | 44 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 67 | 24 | 47 | 71 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 35 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 51 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Skellefteå AIK | SEL | 22 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 54 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 56 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 40 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 219 | 79 | 91 | 170 | 88 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team | 2002–03 | |
| NCAA (ECAC) Second All-Star Team | 2002–03 | |
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team | 2002–03 |