A former NHL depth forward is continuing his career overseas. According to a team announcement, Ryan Spooner has signed a one-year deal with the HK Dukla Trencin of the Slovak Extraliga.
Spooner, 34, was drafted 45th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins. Playing his major junior days in the OHL, Spooner transitioned to professional hockey toward the end of the 2011-12 campaign, where he immediately became an impact scorer for the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
After scoring 37 goals and 133 points in 147 games with Providence, Spooner graduated to full-time NHL duties for the 2015-16 campaign. Despite primarily being an AHL talent up to that point, Spooner had still registered eight goals and 29 points in 56 games with Boston.
He exploded onto the scene, registering 13 goals and 49 points in 80 games with a -9 rating, while averaging 15:08 of ice time per game. Spooner finished fifth on the team in scoring, helping the Bruins to the fifth-best offense in the league.
The Ottawa, ON native continued to be a quality secondary scorer for the Bruins for the next year and a half until he was included in the trade package sent to the New York Rangers in 2018 for Rick Nash.
Unfortunately, Spooner never replicated his offensive production with the Rangers. New York eventually traded him to the Edmonton Oilers for Ryan Strome. A few months later, the Oilers traded him to the Vancouver Canucks for Sam Gagner.
Since then, Spooner has had a lengthy run overseas. Primarily in the KHL, Spooner has racked up 82 goals and 286 points in 346 games while playing in Russia’s top professional league.