Ryan announced his retirement from the NHL on Sept. 5, 2025. The undrafted center played 10 seasons for the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. He had 209 points (82 goals, 127 assists) in 606 regular-season games and 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 60 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The native of Spokane, Washington, didn't let his lack of size (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) keep him from playing in the NHL.

After four seasons with Spokane of the Western Hockey League, Ryan elected to play college hockey in Canada and played four seasons for the University of Alberta. Then it was off to the Austrian league for three seasons before joining Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League in 2014-15.

He led the SHL in scoring with 60 points (15 goals, 45 assists) and was named the league's MVP and Forward of the Year.

Ryan got on the radar of several NHL teams despite their concerns about his size. He signed with the Hurricanes (coached by Bill Peters, his coach at Spokane) and after playing most of the 2015-16 season with Charlotte of the American Hockey League, made his NHL debut as a 29-year-old against the New Jersey Devils on March 1, 2016, scoring a goal in his first game.

Ryan had two goals in six NHL games after the callup, then improved those totals to 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 67 games in 2016-17 and surpassed those numbers in 2017-18, finishing with 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 80 games.

Ryan signed a two-year, $1.8 million contract with the Oilers on June 13, 2023, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. He had 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in 80 regular-season games of the 2022-23 season, and three points (one goal, two assists) in 11 playoff games. He had six points (one goal, five assists) in 36 regular-season games for the Oilers in 2024-25 and did not play in the postseason.