Nathan Reiter
Lethbridge Herald
You won’t find anyone more well liked in the Lethbridge Hurricanes organization than Ryan Roznowsky.
Roznowsky, known to the team by his nickname Ry Guy, was born with down syndrome and works as an equipment assistant with the Hurricanes. He has been a constant presence at the rink on both practice and game days for more than a decade in Lethbridge working closely with equipment manager Rhett White.
“I like to set up the bench with all my helpers.” Roznowsky told the Herald in an interview earlier this week. “I also like to help out with the sticks, what I do for Whitey, and I also respect everybody on the coaching staff. I also respect every person there is in this room and the players and the whole staff. They are wonderful people.”
Roznowsky is far from the first person with down syndrome to work in hockey. The Red Deer Rebels renamed their training camp tournament this year in honour of Mikel McIver, who has worked as a dressing room attendant with the club for more than 25 years. In the NHL, the late Joey Moss was a favorite amongst players with the Edmonton Oilers and became a local celebrity after originally being hired by the club as a favour to Wayne Gretzky.
If you’re ever around the Hurricane dressing room, it won’t take you very long to figure out who Roznowsky’s favorite NHL team is. He is a die hard fan of the Oilers and is always willing to have a conversation about the team.
White says Roznowsky always brings a positivity to the rink even when the Hurricanes are struggling or the Oilers suffered a defeat the night before.
“There’s no real bad days. As he’s getting older here, we know there are some difficulties with his ability just because of who he is. As he’s getting older, we notice a change with him. But really, even when the Oilers lose 5-1, and he comes in the next day, and it’s, ‘oh, they’ll be OK. We’ll get them tomorrow.’ He’s a true fan of everybody. He loves dearly. Regardless of what’s happened throughout the day, there’s always a smile on his face. When the Oilers lose, maybe in the moment, it’s probably not as truthful. I think all in all, it would just be positivity I think of when I hear Ryan Roznowsky.”
Over the years, White has developed a very close relationship with Roznowsky. He says it can be difficult to explain the connection to someone who doesn’t know Roznowsky.
Ryan Roznowsky’s portrait in the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame. Roznowsky, who now works as an equipment assistant for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, was inducted in 2014.
“He’s my best friend. He’s my little brother some days, it feels like. I want to grab him and shake him. But at the same time, I don’t see a future where he’s not with me. It’s a different relationship. It’s hard to explain to people when you’re not with him every day. You get the phone call in the summertime from Wendy and Wayne going ‘what are you up to today Whitey?’. Knowing in reality, it’s Ryan sitting there at home and my name has probably been said about 50 million times.”
Prior to his time with the Hurricanes, Roznowsky served in a similar role with the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
Roznowsky was also a strong athlete growing up and was inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 in the athlete category. He competed in Special Olympics in multiple sports including bowling, floor hockey, golf, softball and track and field. In 2002, he won two gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the Canadian Special Olympic Summer Games which were hosted in Prince Albert. He has swam internationally representing Canada at meets in Portugal, Taiwan, Italy and Mexico winning over 10 medals.
He continued to swim after his family moved from Prince Albert to Grand Prairie in 2006, and still swims today, but he’s not the only member of his family involved. He will be competing on the same team with his nephew, Easton Klippenstein, at a swim meet in the near future.
“He helps out with a basketball team and some other stuff.” Roznowsky said about his nephew. “He also swims, he’s a very good swimmer. I am very proud of Easton. He’s a good swimmer. He’s fast and he’s a very good backstroker. He’s a hard working kid.”
One of Roznowsky’s most important duties is sending the Hurricanes onto the ice properly. Before every game at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena, you can find Roznowsky at the far end of the Lethbridge bench giving each and every Hurricanes player an enthusiastic fist bump and words of encouragement as they step onto the ice during pre-game introductions.
“He wants to win and (have) success just as bad as we do.” Hurricane forward Kayden Longley said. “He comes into battle with us every night, so just having that support really means a lot to this group.”
Over the years, there have been several players that have made close connections with Roznowsky. Former Hurricane captains Joe Arntsen and Jordy Bellerive became particularly close with him during their careers in Lethbridge,
White says there are plenty of Hurricane alumni that are asking about Roznowsky whenever they talk to him.
“There’s definitely been a few players over the years that have definitely taken more of a liking to him than others and that’s not necessarily a knock on any player that did or didn’t. Even in the future the ones that will and won’t but there has definitely been some that have really embraced Ry Guy. Joe (Arntsen) being one of them, (Dino) Kambeitz, we hear from those guys on World Down Syndrome Day every year. I get a text from those guys or a Snapchat and they’re wondering about Ry Guy. I’m really close with Jordy Bellerive and Calen Addison and they ask ‘where’s Ry Guy’ when they FaceTime and we’re at the rink. Ryan Vandervlis comes down still quite a bit to see us and right away it’s a big hug between those two.”
Saturday marks World Down Syndrome Day, which is held on Mar. 21 every year. The reason it is held on the same date every year is because Mar. 21 (3/21) matches the three copies of chromosome 21 which is unique to people with Down Syndrome. According to worlddownsyndromeday.org, around 1 in 800 babies are born with down syndrome.
When the Hurricanes host the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight, both teams will be wearing mismatched socks by design. It is an initiative that the Hurricanes have done in previous years to raise awareness about down syndrome.
Roznowsky says it means a lot to him to have a visible indicator from the teams showing support.
“It was very nice for people to do that with the socks and respecting Special Olympics all around the world. There are people out there that might be able to do that, all the other ones as well, and they need to respect who they are and who they want to be and go out there and have fun.”
