George Richards, FHN Publisher
SUNRISE — It took Ryan Lomberg a little bit of time to become a regular in the Florida Panthers lineup, but it did not take long for him to endure himself to the team’s fans.
In his first season with the Panthers in 2021, Lomberg found himself being a healthy scratch many nights and when he did get in, minutes were limited.
Only he made the best of those minutes.
As has been the case for Lomberg throughout his career, nothing has come easy.
And, nothing has been handed to him.
Undrafted after being suspended from the University of Maine, Lomberg was invited to a with the Calgary Flames and earned a minor-league contract at that development camp.
He bounced around throughout the Flames system for a bit all while playing in 11 NHL games over two seasons with Calgary.
In 2020, the Panthers came calling with a two-year contract.
Lomberg jumped at the opportunity Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers were offering.
It turned out to be one of the best moves he has ever made.
Lomberg is married with a son now.
In 2021, he got a second, two-year contract which runs through next season.
Yes, Ryan Lomberg has found a home with the Panthers.
“My wife and I, our family, really loves South Florida,” Lomberg told Florida Hockey Now last week, a few days after he tied last year’s total of nine goals in a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
“We talk about retiring, living here all the time. The people have been great, the culture here and obviously the weather is something we love. It is home. Having our child here, it is home for us. The people have helped make it a home. We could not be more happy here. We are looking forward to more.”
And, he says, the best is yet to come.
Lomberg quickly became a fan favorite, getting into altercations seemingly every game he played.
His star in South Florida truly began to rise one night in April during that Covid-shortened 2021 season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were in town and Lomberg mixed it up with Cole Sherwood at center ice.
After Lomberg got the takedown, he pulled off his helmet to flip his long hair, a mischievous grin across his face for all to see as he sprinted to the penalty box.
The fans, predictably, went nuts.
Lomberg’s biggest moment, to date, with the Panthers came a few weeks later when he scored the game-winning goal in Game 4 of Florida’s opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Jumping in for a defensive-zone faceoff in overtime, Lomberg took off after Noel Acciari swept the puck to Radko Gudas along the half wall.
Gudas quickly threw the puck up the ice to Frank Vatrano who saw Lomberg racing up the ice.
Lomberg got the puck in stride as he blew past Victor Hedman, walked in on Andrei Vasilevskiy and put a backhander over his shoulder.
“A lot of things have to go, almost everything, has to go perfect in that situation,’’ Joel Quenneville said afterward.
“Lot of perfect plays happened before Lombo got to it. It was one of those plays where you don’t expect to score, but you expect to get out of your end. … This was a huge, gigantic goal and a great shot. His first shift in overtime was special.”
Since the fight with Sherwood back in 2021, Lomberg has been a mainstay in the Florida lineup.
He has seen his responsibilities grow within the team over the past year as he has been given more minutes and, most recently, a promotion to the left side of the team’s third line with Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart.
Much of this season found Lomberg in a familiar spot on the fourth line, but with veteran Eric Staal at center, Florida was getting much more offensive contribution from that group than in years past.
Coach Paul Maurice says Staal has helped Lomberg open things up a little bit and get him more involved in the play.
“He has energy and has a really good shot,” said Maurice, who moved Staal up to play with Reinhart and Lomberg on Saturday night. “He hit the crossbar on a backhand shot the other night and he is capable of (scoring) on that.
“He also keeps our bench right. He has this big personality and never shuts up. That’s good thing, for the most part. He brings the energy up and I think he just loves his teammates. He loves coming to the rink. He is like the little brother you bring around because he is great to have around.”
By playing a bigger role — and getting more minutes — Lomberg has toned down the hits and the fights which had once defined his game, perhaps out of necessity.
To make it to the big leagues, Lomberg had to play a certain style of game. It got him to where he wanted to be, but perhaps also limited how far he could go.
Now it appears all things are in play for Ryan Lomberg.
”It is funny because my dad was asking me why I have been hitting less lately,’’ Lomberg said. “It is because we have the puck more. In years past, I have been chasing and chasing and chasing it. I am not taking that out of my game, I want to be aggressive and be an agitator, but when we have the puck, we can do a lot of things.”
Lomberg still has the speed, will still dig pucks out of the corner and throw the big hit when needed.
But he also plays on a line that is going toward the net, trying to make something happen.
Of course, as we saw on Saturday night, Lomberg is not afraid to mix it up.
”With more playing time comes more responsibility and I have to take advantage of this opportunity,” Lomberg said. “They are obviously playing me more for a reason, right? I have worked hard and have deserved it.
“Now that I am here, I do not want it to take a step back, to let this slip away. I am trying to make the most of it. And this is how my whole career has gone. Nothing has been given to me and now that I have this opportunity, I do not plan on letting go of it.”
Coming to the Panthers was something Lomberg had to think on.
Lomberg had some offers from other teams as a free agent, but conversations with the Panthers’ front office and coaching staff led him to believe this could be a place where his career would thrive.
He was not wrong.
“It is a dream come true,” Lomberg told FHN not long after signing with the Panthers. “It’s tough to put into words how much this means to me.
“This is something I have worked so hard to get for so long now. It has been an uphill battle at times, there were times things weren’t going so great for me. But I’m so thankful for the people close to me who supported me through the tough times.
“I am very excited for the opportunity in Florida and to show the people in the front office what they see in me is what they’ll get every day. This is a great fit for us both. I am excited to get to work and I want to show them I am worth the opportunity and the contract. I’ll do anything I can do to help the team win.”
True that.