Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Youngstown Phantoms coach Ryan Ward, right, embraces defenseman Andrew Strathmann after the Phantoms won the Clark Cup in 2023, Ward’s first season in Youngstown. Ward picked up his 100th win with the Phantoms this past weekend against Muskegon.

Starting as a stick boy with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins, the game of hockey has taken Ryan Ward all over North America.

Along each stop of his journey, the Youngstown Phantoms’ coach has crossed paths with many people. And as a young coach, Ward took bits and pieces from each person.

It all culminated in Youngstown.

On Feb. 22, the Phantoms pulled off a weekend series sweep of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, downing the rival Lumberjacks 5-4. Two games, two wins. A much-needed four points in the standings. That win also marked Ward’s 100th win as a USHL head coach.

“You don’t really look at that stuff, but when they said that, you kind of take a moment and you look back on everything,” Ward said. “I got some messages from former players, former Phantoms and people you work with. To me, it’s been such a privilege to be here and part of this organization. When you start thinking about all the people that you come in contact with, from the players, to the fans, to our management and the ownership and all the staff that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, it’s pretty special.

“When we got here in year one, we didn’t really know what to expect, and now I think we expect to win every game and be a contender every year, and I think that’s pretty special. I’m just super thankful and extremely grateful to everyone that’s crossed paths here. We have this bond together of always being a Youngstown Phantom.”

Like Ward’s journey across the hockey world, the bond formed in Youngstown also spreads across the continent. Former Phantoms defenseman Andrew Strathmann was one of the first players Ward brought to Youngstown and served as the captain last season. Now at the University of North Dakota, the blueliner talked about how Ward played a role in his own career.

“First of all, congrats to (Ward) on 100 wins — that’s a huge accomplishment. Knowing him since I was 15, there isn’t any surprise that he’d be a Clark Cup Champion and have 100 wins under his belt in only his third year of coaching,” Strathmann said. “He was not only a great coach for me on the ice, but someone I could count on to give me great life advice as well. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for him. I know he’s never satisfied with anything and won’t take any opportunities for granted.”

Serving as a throughline, Scott Gordon has been an instrumental figure in Ward’s career. When Gordon arrived to the Providence Bruins for the 2000-01 season, Ward was already helping out the equipment staff.

As the two got to know each other, Gordon saw something in the young staffer. The pair kept in contact over the years, and when Ward was leaving school and looking for a job, Gordon was in the process of landing a job of his own, setting the stage for the two to cross paths again.

“When I first met him, he was probably around 14 years old, and for a 14-year-old kid to take on responsibility of whether it’s sleeping at the rink to get the job done, putting in the hours and doing the work and having a passion for it,” Gordon said. “Then on top of that, he was just a great kid and had a great personality. He was a lot more mature than most kids his age, and as the years went by, he went to college and we kept in contact. In his junior year, he was home on spring break and asked if he could tag one of my games and do the video editing. Right away I could see his ability to be able to do that.

“Then, as it turned out, he was looking for an internship with Providence, and at the time, I was interviewing for the (New York) Islanders job. He called me and asked me about (the Providence job), and I said I’d have to get back to him on it, but in the back of my mind, I knew he’d be capable of doing the job as video coordinator. So when I got the job with the Islanders, I called him and told him, I wouldn’t be able to help with the Providence Bruins internship, but I was going to be named the head coach of the islanders and wanted to see if he was interested in taking on a job with the Islanders. Of course, he said yes, and here we are today.”

Fresh out of college at Bowling Green, Ward got his coaching start during the 2008-09 season as a video coach for the Islanders. It doesn’t get much fresher than Ward was stepping into that job.

“I literally took my last final in Bowling Green, and the next day we were playing the Capitals, which we lost in overtime,” Ward said. “Kind of a surreal thing to graduate college, then you go to the NHL and you’re working in the NHL for four years.”

The pair now are together again behind the bench in Youngstown and got to enjoy the moment together.

Ward’s stint with the Islanders led him across the hockey world. After a season off and a year with the University of Rhode Island’s club hockey team, Ward found himself back at the professional level as a video coach with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ AHL team. He was bumped up to the Maple Leafs for his second season with the team, but left to go behind the bench in the junior ranks.

Ward served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. The last non-junior stop Ward would make on his way to Youngstown also provided the coach with his first taste of championship glory.

As the video coach for the San Antonio Rampage — the minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Blues — Ward was around for the Blues’ Stanley Cup run. Entering the season, San Antonio’s backup netminder, Jordan Binnington, led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup. Ward and the Rampage staff all received Stanley Cup rings.

That championship experience only fueled Ward as he began to carve his own path.

Stints with multiple AAA programs and a two-season tenure as the Director of Player Development for the Tri-City Storm helped prepare Ward for his current endeavor in Youngstown.

A rough start in that first season quickly turned to elation as Ward helped lead the Phantoms to their first Clark Cup championship.

This 100th USHL win, now 101 as of Thursday’s victory over Green Bay, is just another step of the way. As great as the feeling of wins are, and as great as the feeling of a championship is, the highlight of Ward’s career has been the people at every stop. Whether it’s the players he’s coached, the fans along the way or the multiple staffs he’s been on, it’s the human connection that’s made the jobs special.

“One of the highlights of my professional life has been meeting the people I’ve met,” Ward said. “Being able to say that you’ve coached for 17 straight years, going on 18 and the people you meet along the way, it makes it all worth it. I think the relationships you build that’s been a huge highlight for me. I still talk to 90% of the guys I’ve coached throughout the years, and that’s a huge highlight.

“There have been big milestones along the way. Obviously winning the Clark Cup, doing my first World Championships with Team USA in 2010. I remember thinking that was the ultimate ‘we made it,’ and then being able to do another World Championships in 2012. I’ve been fortunate to win some championships and getting a Stanley Cup ring with the St Louis Blues, but I have to say that probably the most important thing to me when you reflect on the whole journey is just the relationships you make and the people you work with, and the players that you work with and the time spent with the people you really care about. Being able to work in sports, I always joke to everyone that I haven’t worked a day in my life, and it’s true. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this every day for a living, and hopefully we can do it for a long time.”