Wolf Pack: Ty Ronning is red hot in Hartford
And lo, a phoenix stirs and rises from the ashes. Wreathed in an afterbirth of flame and smoke. It’s name? Ty Ronning.
Ty Ronning, the New York Rangers’ 201st pick (7th round) of the 2016 Draft, is back in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack and he’s picking up points in bunches.
Ronning is currently tied for second on Hartford in scoring with 11 points this season but has played in just eight of the team’s 14 games. He’s riding a four-game scoring streak and has piled up eight of his 11 points during that stretch. Thanks in part to Ronning’s production, Hartford has won its last four games and now has a record of 7-6-1.
.@TyRonning7 has been tearing it up with the @WolfPackAHL lately. 👀 pic.twitter.com/PxH1p6N0i2
— Maine Mariners (@MarinersOfMaine) April 8, 2021
A closer look at the numbers tells an interesting story. Per Pick224’s data, Ronning leads the Wolf Pack with five even-strength goals despite the fact that he’s played in only half of their games. He’s also just one of a half dozen skaters on the team with two primary points on the power play.
Ronning has been clicking on a line with Tim Gettinger — who had a hat trick against Bridgeport in Hartford’s 7-2 win on Wednesday — and Justin Richards. Prior to Ronning being injected into the lineup, Gettinger was struggling to get into the box score this year. It would be a stretch to say that Ronning is directly responsible for Gettinger finally getting some bounces to go his way but the team is winning (against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) and this line is on a roll.
Check out Ronning’s goal against Providence from March 25 and the play that Gettinger made to set him up. Just beautiful.
It’s important to note that only two of Ronning’s five assists have been primary and one of those has come on the power play. Oh, he’s also shooting at a crisp 31.6%. So we should not be surprised if (and when) Ronning’s production falls off a cliff sometime in the immediate future. With that said, this is a fun little story to keep an eye on in Hartford.
Ronning split the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns in the ECHL and the AHL after struggling to get in the box score and hold onto a roster spot with the Wolf Pack. He was productive at the ECHL level — to the tune of 24 points in 28 games last season — but he hasn’t lit the lamp like this since his first 12 games in the AHL in the 2016-17 season. Prior to this year, he had eight points in his last 46 games with the Wolf Pack. Those numbers just weren’t good enough for a guy who earned a reputation as a goal scorer in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants.
Again, this is a sample size of eight games we’re talking about but this is the kind of story you love to see. Ronning is an undersized forward half a decade removed from his draft year that is doing everything he can to continue to play pro hockey. He’s 23, so the window on him making it to the NHL is all all but closed, but it’s great to see him making his mark at this level again.
Ronning is in the final year of the entry-level contract he signed on March 5, 2018. He’ll be an RFA at the end of the season.
Data courtesy pick224.com, theahl.com, and salary information courtesy of CapFriendly.com.
