Ufko continues the Admirals tradition of developing the defense | TheAHL.com

by Jason Karnosky | AHL On The Beat

The Milwaukee Admirals have a knack for developing National Hockey League defensemen.

Since being dealt to Nashville shortly after the Predators expanded, a steady stream of All-Star-caliber defensemen — including Roman Jose, Shea Weber, Ryan Suter again Kimmo Timonen – began their careers in Milwaukee. A number of other defenders such as Mattias Ekholm, Dan Hamhuis, Cody Franson, Spencer Stastney and, more recently, Adam Wilsby enjoyed solid NHL careers after wearing an Admirals jersey.

Ryan Ufko represents the next link in the Admirals development chain. Now in his second full season with Milwaukee, the 22-year-old blueliner leads Milwaukee — and all AHL defensemen — in scoring with 33 points through 32 games.

“Ryan gets a lot of opportunities and ice time, and he runs with it.” Admirals coach Karl Taylor said. “He was really good for us.”

Ufko had a goal and an assist in Milwaukee’s most important win of the season, a 3-0 victory over Rockford on Dec. 30 that ended his team’s nine-game losing streak.

“We still believe in ourselves, and we believe in the way we have been playing even if we fall behind or lose,” said ufko. “We have tried not to focus on collapse, but instead we are holding each other because we know what we can get out.”

Like his team, Ufko got off to a fast start this season. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst product has scored in each of the last four games of October. During that time, Milwaukee trailed only league leader Grand Rapids in the Central Division standings.

“It was a really good start for me (personally),” said ufko. “I feel comfortable this year, and I’m very confident with the way I’m playing.”

A skilled blueliner emerges as a weapon on the power play. Four of his nine goals were scored by a man.

“Our power play has been pressing and taking advantage of those moments,” said Ufko, who also scored his first shutout goal of the season. “Especially at the beginning of the year it seemed like we were scoring goals for ourselves in every game.”

While Milwaukee limped along in December, falling back to fifth place in the Central Division, the Admirals’ power play remained top notch. They are scoring power play goals at an impressive 29.8 percent clip, which is the best success rate in the AHL.

“(I’m grateful) for all the opportunities I’ve been getting this season,” said Ufko, who also had five consecutive points during the Thanksgiving break. “It shows the confidence the coaches have in me, and I tried to use that.”

While Ufko started this season, his resume began in the spring of 2024, as the native of Smithtown, NY, joined the Admirals about a month before his 21st birthday. Ufko signed an entry-level contract with Nashville on March 29 after playing three years of college hockey at UMass.

“I [time] I was here as college went by fast,” Ufko said. “But I also feel like I’ve been here a long time, especially after making all those playoffs that first spring. That 2024 playoff run was very good for my career. “

Ufko played nine regular season games with the Admirals in 2023-24, contributing six points. The Predators’ 2021 fourth-round draft pick then helped Milwaukee advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.

“Ryan had 10 points in those 15 Finals games, but he’s come a long way as a player since then,” Taylor said. “I am very proud of his growth, and the way he is playing for us.”

Last season as a rookie, Ufko was the only Admirals player to slide in all 72 regular season games. He struggled a bit out of the gates but ended up being Milwaukee’s top defenseman with 30 points. He added three assists in 10 playoff games last spring.

“Ryan had a slow start last year, coming back from all that momentum he had last season,” Taylor said. “But at the end of the year he was one of our better players.”

The highlight of Ufko’s season came on April 14, 2025, when he made his NHL debut with Nashville.

“Ryan is yelling at Nashville to give him a chance,” Taylor said. “He’s demanding his game. He learned a lot from his slow start last year, and that was a teachable moment for all of our players.”

This season the 5-foot-10 defenseman has found another level, and that means a lot for a Milwaukee team that is trying to recover from the storm that they had behind them in the beginning.

“Ryan had a little more confidence, and he was more secure with the puck, so he was able to hold on to it a little bit longer to make those late plays,” Taylor said. “He’s been outstanding for us, and what a way to start the year, especially after how he started last year.”