Film Room: How Ryan Lin's refined defensive details will help him beat the odds in the NHL

Ryan Lin controls games. He’s done it at every level he’s played. 

He entered the WHL as a 16-year-old with a lot of attention as a sixth overall pick. He didn't just hold his own; he looked comfortable right away, managing pace, space, and possession like someone who had been there before.

In his draft-minus-one year, Lin put up 53 points in 60 games with the Vancouver Giants, becoming just the 10th U17 defenceman in WHL history to break the 50-point mark, and the first in nearly 40 years alongside Landon Dupont. 

He was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team, and it came with the added responsibility of being a heavily relied-upon defensive presence as well. 

But it's how he controls games that is where his NHL projection gets more complicated.

This season, Lin has pushed himself to be even more impactful on the offensive end, while maintaining the base of defensive skills that make him an intriguing two-way projection. 

There’s been a noticeable shift in how he approaches the game. He defers less and holds onto pucks more. He makes more attempts to dictate play rather than support it. That’s where the evaluation gets interesting, because Lin's foundation has never really been in question. His defensive detail, awareness, and consistency have always been there. 

The question now is how far the offensive side can go.

The Engine: Transition Control

Everything starts with how Lin moves the puck.

Before he even touches it, he’s already scanning. With shoulder checks on retrievals to pre-load his options or read where pressure is coming from, Lin is already working through his next decision by the time the puck hits his stick.

“I’m a one-man breakout,” he told me earlier this season. 

It’s not an exaggeration.

What separates him isn’t just that he can beat pressure. A lot of junior defenders can do that. It’s how controlled he is while doing it. He retrieves pucks on angles, opens his hips early, and uses short, efficient crossovers to build speed without giving anything away. There’s very little wasted movement. He can shift inside or outside without needing to reset, and that keeps defenders guessing.

Lin pulls pucks into his hip pocket, holds for a half second to draw a forechecker in, then slips past and moves it through the next layer. Other times, he’ll just take the ice and go, but even then, it feels measured. He’s not rushing decisions – he’s manipulating pressure.

That second layer is what really matters. He doesn’t just escape the first forechecker. He draws the second and then makes the play through it. That’s where his game really starts to look translatable.

The same processing and awareness carry over defensively.

Defensive Impact

Lin’s defensive game isn’t loud. While he's more than capable of delivering big open ice collisions or gratuitous violence at the net front, his game won't hit you in the mouth.

However, it is one of the most reliable parts of his profile.

He closes space early and keeps tight gaps without overcommitting. Instead of backing in and reacting, he matches speed laterally, staying inside the play and taking away the middle. His stick is always active, working under hands and disrupting routes before they fully develop. He’s cautious not to cross his feet against a threatening rush, instead utilizing a shuffle approach to match lateral assaults. 

There’s a pattern that shows up often: An attacker builds speed through the neutral zone, Lin meets him with controlled footwork, angles him wide, and the play dies before it becomes anything dangerous. It’s not flashy, but it’s repeatable, and it’s translatable.

In-zone, it’s the same idea. Lin is scanning constantly, getting inside positioning early, initiating contact before it turns into a battle he has to chase. He lifts sticks, ties up bodies, and ends plays quickly.

At his size, he’s learned to defend with timing and positioning rather than force. He’s not trying to run through players. He’s containing them, guiding them, and eliminating their options. The result is the same. Possession ends, and the puck is going the other way.

Pushing the Offence

The biggest change in Lin’s game this year has been how long he’s willing to hold onto the puck. As a 16-year-old, he played within the constraints of his situation. Playing with an older, offensively inclined partner in Mazden Leslie, he played the release valve role well and earned ample practice at facing odd-man chances against. 

He got defensive stops, made quick outlets and simple plays, and let others drive the offence. It worked, and it showed maturity, but it also capped what he could do offensively.

This year, he took the authority to push for more.

At the offensive blue line, Lin walks laterally more often, holding onto pucks and trying to manipulate defenders instead of just moving it to the next option. He looks to extend plays rather than end them safely, pushing lower, and looking for cross-seam plays or rebounds kicked out high. 

It hasn’t all clicked. There are moments where Lin holds too long without a clear next play, or where he turns back into pressure and gets stuck. Other times, that old instinct kicks in, and he moves it too early when there’s more available.

But the intent has been there all season. Lin is trying to add a layer that wasn’t part of his game before, one designed to show teams he’ll be capable of pushing offensively at the next level. 

The conversation around Lin has never really been about whether he can produce. It’s about how that production translates.

His offence is built more on reading advantages and moving into space than it is on breaking structure. He can walk the line, change angles, get his shot through, and distribute effectively, but he doesn’t consistently manipulate defenders with electric lateral agility or elite deception. He’s not breaking ankles or creating chaos at the top of the zone.

At 5-foot-11, he also doesn’t fit the modern shutdown profile, even if his defensive game is strong enough to handle tough minutes.

So the question becomes where he fits in a lineup and how he can best impact the game in a positive way.

The Projection

Based on his size, skillset, and hockey IQ, Lin projects as a second-pair defenceman. He doesn’t dominate in one single area, but he consistently does everything well.

His skating projects to be well above-average, and he uses it to escape pressure and control pace. He processes the game quickly and efficiently, which allows him to leverage his abilities. He defends cleanly and moves the puck effectively.

He may never be a primary offensive driver, and he may not run a top power play at the NHL level. But he doesn’t need to justify being a high pick this year. He can still control shifts. He can still tilt the ice. He can still make his forwards better by getting them the puck in motion and in space.

Players like that tend to stick for a long time.

On paper, the move to the University of Denver feels like the perfect next step for where his game is heading.

He’ll step into a championship program that values structure, decision-making, and puck movement. which plays directly into his strengths. More importantly, he’ll have the opportunity to continue expanding that offensive layer without being asked to become something he isn’t.

With ice time available on the right side, he should get touches and reps in meaningful situations right away. That’s what he needs. More chances to hold pucks, extend plays, and refine that balance between patience and decisiveness.

David Carle has shown he’s willing to trust defenders who think the game at a high level. He doesn’t need Lin to change his identity. He just needs him to keep sharpening it.

Lin isn’t a player who overwhelms you. He controls the game in quieter ways, through positioning, timing, and decision-making. That might not always stand out at first glance, but it’s the type of game that tends to translate.

Lin has been doing this for years. Now, it’s just a matter of how far his game can carry him.

What NHL scouts are saying

“Three-zone player with strong technical footwork and defensive details. Stays connected to plays without overextending, uses his positioning and timing to eliminate threats. Offensive upside looks more limited than some of the other top guys [defencemen] in the group.” 

“He’s a better defender than most give him credit for.” 

On his skating: “The mechanical base is there for Lin. Really fluid going backwards. It’s just a strength/length issue for him, right now.” 

“He’s become sort of the forgotten man in this group [of defencemen], but I think we’ll look back and see that was a mistake. He’s a good player.”