Patrick J. C. Ryan (born September 28, 1955 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

) is a Canadian curler originally from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Ryan is a former

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

skip, and three time Brier champion. Ryan lives in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Career

Ryan appeared in his first Brier in 1979 when he was the second for Paul Devlin's

team. They finished 6-5. In 1985, Ryan returned to the Brier, as a skip of Team Alberta. His team of Gord Trenchie, Don McKenzie, and

Don Walchuk Donald J. Walchuk (born March 6, 1963, in Melville, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian curling, curler from Edmonton, Alberta. For many years Walchuk played third for Kevin Martin (curler), Kevin Martin's team. On Martin's rink, Walchuk was known especi ...

had an impressive 11-1 performance, their only loss coming in the final against

Al Hackner Allan A. Hackner (born July 18, 1954), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a retired Canadian Hall of Fame curler from Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was born in Nipigon, Ontario. He is a two-time Brier and World Champion skip. He is of Ojibwa descent and ...

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

. Two years later, Ryan would return to the Brier. His new team, which included

Randy Ferbey Randy S. Ferbey (born May 30, 1959) is a Canadian retired curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion. He recently coached the Rachel Homan women's team. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, ...

(whom he played with at the 1986 Canadian Mixed Championship) and Roy Herbert along with Walchuk finished with a disappointing 6-5 record. At the 1988 Labatt Brier however, Ryan's Alberta foursome (now with Don McKenzie as lead instead of Herbert) would win the championship defeating Eugene Hritzuk of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in the final. Ryan's team had a perfect 12-0 record. At the World Championships however, Ryan's team would be undefeated all the way to the final against

Eigil Ramsfjell Eigil Ramsfjell (born 17 March 1955 in Oslo) is a Norwegian curler, world champion and Olympic medalist. Many consider him one of the pioneers in modern curling. He received a bronze medal as skip at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

which he lost. Ryan returned to the 1989 Labatt Brier, which he won again, albeit with three losses along the way. Ryan would this time be able to win the 1989 World Championships, again with three losses. He defeated

Patrick Hürlimann Patrick Hürlimann (born 9 July 1963) is a Swiss curler, Olympic champion, and Vice-President of the World Curling Federation (WCF). He received a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the final. Ryan was nicknamed the Ryan Express for his team's ability to peel rocks which led to many low scoring games, but gave the team two straight Brier championships. This strategy was perceived as boring, and elicited jeering from crowds, and forced the rules of curling to be changed with the implementation of the free guard zone. 1993 would be Ryan's next Brier appearance. This time Ryan had moved from

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to Kelowna, British Columbia. In 1993, Ryan played third for

Rick Folk Richard Dale “Rick” Folk (born March 5, 1950, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian curler and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, where he represented the Progressive Conservative Party for one term from 1982 u ...

which lost the final to

Russ Howard Russell W. "Russ" Howard, CM, ONL (born February 19, 1956, in Midland, Ontario) is a Canadian curler and Olympic champion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, but originally from Midland, Ontario. He lived in Moncton, New Brunswick, from 2000 t ...

from

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Ryan and Folk would return to the 1994 Labatt Brier where they won, getting their revenge against Howard in the final. At the 1994 World Championships, Ryan would win his second World Championships, as their team defeated Jan-Olov Nässén of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the final. Ryan and Folk would return to the Brier again in 1995, however they finished 6-5. Ryan wouldn't return to the Brier until 2002. By now, Ryan was the skip of team British Columbia, and his team of Deane Horning, Kevin MacKenzie, and Rob Koffski would finish 6-5 at the

2002 Nokia Brier The 2002 Nokia Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held from March 9 to 17 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. It was won by the Albertan foursome headed by Randy Ferbey. Ferbey threw third stones throughout the tou ...

. Ryan's last Brier to date was the

2003 Nokia Brier The 2003 Nokia Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held from March 1 to 9 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The defending champion, Randy Ferbey and his team from Alberta were the winners, winning their third Br ...

, where his team of Horning, MacKenzie and

Bob Ursel Robert (Bob) "Bobby" Ursel (born February 12, 1965) is a Canadian curler and curling coach. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ursel lives of Kelowna, British Columbia. Curling career After finishing 6–5 at the 1983 Canadian Junior Men's Curling ...

finished 7-6 Ryan moved back to Alberta, and won his first Canadian Senior Curling Championship (for curlers over 50 years old) in 2007 as the skip for Team Alberta. In 2008, Ryan skipped Canada to a World Senior Curling Championship. He moved to Toronto in 2008, and played alternate for

Peter Corner Peter J. Corner2017 Brier Media Guide: Previous Rosters (born May 20, 1968 in Brampton, Ontario) is a Canadian curler from Burlington, Ontario. Career Corner was a member of the 1993 "dream team" of his cousin Wayne Middaugh and the brothers o ...

's team at the 2009 TSC Stores Tankard.

Personal life

Ryan is currently employed as a chartered professional accountant. He is married and has two children. Ryan also writes and performs

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

solo and performing with his daughter

Lynsay Lindsay () is both an English and Scottish surname and a given name. The given name comes from the Scottish surname and clan name, which comes from the toponym Lindsey, which in turn comes from the Old English toponym ''Lindesege'' ("Island of L ...

. He has released two CDs, ''Old Dog - New Tricks'' and ''Little Bit of Trouble''.

References

External links

* * Video: {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Pat 1955 births Living people Brier champions Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Curlers from Edmonton Curlers from Winnipeg Curlers from Kelowna World curling champions Canadian accountants Canadian male curlers Canadian curling coaches Canada Cup (curling) participants 20th-century Canadian sportsmen