Ryan Hollweg

As the son of a Brazilian father of German descent and Canadian mother, Hollweg chose hockey over soccer.[citation needed] Even as a young boy, he assumed that someday he would be a professional hockey player. Because his Southern California hometown did not have a hockey program, his mother would drive him to neighboring cities to attend hockey clinics.[citation needed] He played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Team California minor ice hockey team. He left Downey at 14 to play junior hockey in British Columbia, and was impressive in scoring 54 points in 58 games in 1998–99 for the Langley Hornets (BCHL). In 1999, he was drafted #1 by the Medicine Hat Tigers (Western Hockey League). There, he was known as both a scorer and a tough player, even winning Player of the Week honors twice in his four seasons.[citation needed]\n', '

The 5\'11", 212-pounder…