PDA

View Full Version : Ryan Cuthbert



J23
10-13-2006, 08:41 PM
Hey guys,
Did anyone read the article in today's Capital News about Ryan Cuthbert?? I knew he wasn't playing this year, but there's a nice article on him. I wasn't sure how to post a link, so I just pasted the article, sorry for the length!

Cuthbert calls it a career

Sean Connor/Capital News

Ryan Cuthbert is adjusting to life after hockey. The 24-year-old former Kelowna Rockets’ captain has retired after suffering a serious concussion last season.


By Warren Henderson
Staff Reporter
Oct 13 2006


Leaving his playing career behind is one of the hardest decisons Ryan Cuthbert has ever had to make.

For the former Kelowna Rockets captain, it’s also the wisest choice.

“My health is more important than hockey,” said Cuthbert, 24. “It’s a tough thing to walk away from it, but I need to be healthy to be happy. I feel like I’m ready to move on with my life.”

Cuthbert has decided to close the book on his pro career, the result of a concussion he suffered last year while playing with the East Coast Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound native of Swift Current took a stiff hit to the chin in a game vs. the Pensicola Ice Pilots in November 2005 and has yet to make a complete recovery.

He played in three games and continued to work out after the injury, but would still struggle with headaches, bouts of nausea and vomiting. He sat out the remainder of the 2005-06 season during which time his recovery was slow and frustrating.

Finally, after a visit to a specialist in Pittsburgh in August for one final test, Cuthbert made his step into retirement.

“It was my fault for continuing to play and trying to come back before I should have,” said Cuthbert, who is living in Kelowna. “I pushed myself pretty hard and didn’t give it the time it needed. If I had advice for anybody who gets a concussion, I’d say don’t rush it.”

Still, Cuthbert has no regrets about the years he spent consumed by his sport of passion.

As the team’s tough-as-nails captain, he led the Rockets to a Western Hockey League title and a Memorial Cup appearance in 2003, his last of five memorable seasons in Kelowna.

“That last year was definitely the highlight for me…people didn’t know what kind of a team we had, and we ended up going all the way to the Cup,” he said. “It was a shame we didn’t win in the end, but the whole year was so much fun. We had a great team and a great bunch of guys.”

After his junior career ended, Cuthbert would never quite get the chance to realize his dream as a professional. He spent the better part of three seasons in the ECHL, while only seeing spot duty with the American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolfpack, an affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.” Maybe it would have been different if I was a borderline NHL player, but my pro career didn’t go as well as I’d hoped,” he said.

“I’m not bitter, but when I was in Hartford they told me I played well enough to stay there. Then I kept getting sent down and I wasn’t getting the crack I wanted.

“I got some breaks while I played, too, so I’m not going to look back and be disappointed about it.”

For Cuthbert, life after playing hockey will include making a full recovery from his concussion, pursuing a diploma in business, and perhaps one day being a coach.

He’s already been to a few practises to help out Ken Andrusiak with the B.C. Major Midget League’s Okanagan Rockets.

“I’m excited about the new chapter in my life,” he said. “I definitely miss playing, but I know I gave it everything I had when I played. I love the game, but I want to be able to live a normal life.

“I want to be able to still think when I’m 40,” he laughed.

apsco17
10-20-2006, 09:50 AM
Thanks for the post J23.
My all-time fav Rocket. Cutter had a huge heart and never toook a night off. I never saw him lose a fight even though he was often challenged by guys who seemed to be twice his size. Pound for pound I beleive he was the toughest guy in the dub back then. His younger brother Craig is a Rocket now.