Montreal Canadiens trade defenceman Ryan O’Byrne to the Colorado Avalanche
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenceman Ryan O’Byrne has been traded to the Colorado Avalanche, as reported by the team’s official website.
O’Byrne, a native of Victoria, British Columbia, was drafted 79th overall by Montreal in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Cornell University Big Red from 2003 until 2006.
In 2006, he left Cornell to pursue his professional career. He played for the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Habs’ American Hockey League affiliate before making his National Hockey League debut
in the 2007-08 season, playing in 33 games for the Canadiens.
At 6ft 5in and 234lb, O’Byrne was one of the biggest players on the Habs roster, second only to fellow defenceman Hall Gill, who stands 6ft 7in and weighs in at 250lb. During his time
with the Habs, O’Byrne posted totals of 2 goals and 14 assists for a total of 16 points. He also had 181 penalty minutes, and averaged 14:54 of ice time in three games with Habs this season.
In exchange for O’Byrne, the Canadiens received centre Michael Bournival from the Avalanche. Bournival currently plays for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League,
where he leads the team with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points. The 6ft 187lb native of Shawinigan, Quebec has put up 45 goals and 63 assists for 108 points in 121 games with the Cataractes. He was drafted 71st overall by the Avalanche at the 2010 NHL
Entry Draft.
The Canadiens have been playing relatively well lately, posting a 2-0 shutout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, 9 November. The shutout was the second of the season for goaltender
Carey Price, and also the sixth of his career. With the win over Vancouver, Montreal improved their record to 9-5-1 to earn first place in the Northeast Division.
The Habs will travel to Boston to face the Boston Bruins on Thursday, 11 November. The game is slated to begin at 19:00.
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