Joakim Ryan joins the Big Red after winning the Clark Cup with the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints last season, where he led defensemen in scoring with 32 points on three goals and 29 assists. He's wasted no time showing that offensive prowess with the Big Red, scoring a pair of goals in the opener against Mercyhurst before adding a short-handed goal last Saturday at Brown. A dual citizen of the United States and Sweden, Ryan has also represented played on Swedish junior national teams.
 
Q: How was your experience last year playing in the USHL?
A: It was the best hockey experience I've had in my life so far. My team won the whole thing. That was the first championship team I've been a part of, so it was new and it was so much fun. I'll always be best friends with some of the guys on that team, and I'll never forget them. It was a great experience.
 
Q: Can you talk a bit about your Swedish lineage?
A: Well, my mom's Swedish. She was born and raised there, then married my dad, who is American — he's from New Jersey. I used to live in Sweden, too. I lived there for a couple of years. So I have dual citizenship with here and Sweden. I also speak Swedish fluently.
 
Q: What was it like competing at the 2010 World Jr. A Challenge, 2010 World U17 Challenge and at the junior evaluation camp this summer in Lake Placid?
A: It was an honor to be picked for all three of those teams, and it is always a privilege to play for your national team. Those tournaments were some of the best hockey experiences of my life that I will never forget. This summer in Lake Placid was fun to be able to play against my current teammates in Andy Iles and Brian Ferlin (who played for the U.S.). Its always fun playing against the best junior hockey players from around the world, so I just hope that opportunity presents itself again.
 
Q: Your mom was a professional tennis player; do you think that's where you get your competitive drive?
A: Yeah, that's definitely where I get some of my athletic genes. She got to top 10 in the world at one point; played in the Olympics a couple of times. She's definitely been a big influence on my sports life.
 
Q: What made you choose Cornell?
A: When I was in high school, I came on a couple of visits here during my junior year and saw a couple games. After watching the games and the atmosphere here, I fell in love with it. The guys on the team all seemed really cool, like guys I'd want to be around. And I knew it's obviously good academics since you can't always play hockey. ... I really liked the school overall and Coach Schafer.
 
Q: How do you think you're adjusting to the schedule of being back at school?
A: I'm kind of used to it since I've been playing hockey all of my life and dealing with school. You've got to manage your time. It's not that big of an adjustment — just a little more work here.
 
Q: What are you looking forward to most this season?
A: Probably the game at Madison Square Garden, because I grew up a Rangers fan. It'll be really cool to play in the Garden, so I'm looking forward to that game, that's for sure.