Morgan Hill native moved to Texas at 15 to concentrate on
hockey
and hopes to get drafted
Morgan Hill – When he was 15 years old, Morgan Hill resident Ryan Fuller left home for Texas to pursue his hockey career.
He had attended a hockey camp in New York and was recruited to make the big move. His parents left the decision up to him.
“I told them I’d take the shot and if I didn’t like it, I’d come back,” Fuller said. “It was tough, but it’s what I love doing so it wasn’t that tough.”
Fuller, 18, will find out soon how well that decision paid off and what the next step in his career will be as he is one of hundreds of players hoping to be selected in today’s National Hockey League draft, which begins at 3pm,
“I’m going in kind of blind,” Fuller said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not.”
Fuller spent the past two seasons playing for the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League, where his team won two straight national championships.
“It’s been amazing,” Fuller said of playing with the Tornado. “I moved out there when I was 15 and had to make decisions on my own. I grew up so much quicker. It was a great experience to win two national championships.”
Fuller, who began skating when he was four and played on his first hockey team a year later, will still have options available if he doesn’t get drafted. He’s been in discussions with Ohio State University and 2006 NCAA champion University of Wisconsin as possible options for the 2007-08 year.
“I could always go to college and still get drafted afterwards,” Fuller said. “But I’d love to get drafted at 18.”
Fuller is taking the draft in stride, choosing to spend the day at a hockey camp in San Diego. He doesn’t have any plans to follow the draft on the Internet and will just wait for that special phone call.
“If it doesn’t come, it doesn’t come,” he said. “I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
