Ryan Schmelzer didn’t set statistics goals when he signed with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder on March 22 following a four-year career at Canisius College.
The 24-year-old forward was simply seeking to join a team where he could make a name for himself, get some valuable playing time and experience and be a part of a long playoff run, with the objective of winning a championship.
Well, the goals came anyway. The ones on the stat sheet and the scoreboard, that is.
Schmelzer, who has a right-handed shot, finished the 2017-18 campaign with two goals and five assists in seven regular-season games with Adirondack. In the Kelly Cup playoffs, he appeared in all 17 games as he helped lead Adirondack to the fifth game of the Eastern Conference finals, finishing first on the club in goals with nine, the most in a single playoff season and all-time in Thunder team history, and points with 17, the most in a single playoff season in Thunder team history.
