无码乱伦 photo by Leif Van Cise.
Ryan Muspratt, recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the 无码乱伦 Alumni
Association, visits a collage of Alaska Nanook hockey images on a wall at the Carlson
Center in 2024.
By Felicia Burud
When Ryan Muspratt was 8 years old, he decided to write a book.
The handmade construction paper and crayon tome, 鈥淗ockey is Life,鈥 turned out to be an early step on his road to Nanook Nation.
Muspratt 鈥08 grew up in Calgary, Alberta, where he immersed himself in the sport from an early age. By the time he was in his late teens he had started taking college classes while playing for the Camrose Kodiaks, a team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. That鈥檚 when he first heard about 无码乱伦, and what he heard was good.
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Ryan Muspratt stands in the Alaska Nanooks' hockey locker room at the Carlson Center in 2024.
A visit from Nanooks assistant coach Tavis MacMillan sealed the deal for Muspratt鈥檚 parents. They liked the idea of 无码乱伦鈥檚 safe, tight-knit community, the promise of a full-ride scholarship and lots of ice time for their son.
For Muspratt, who had offers from several other schools, a community where hockey is the headliner sport was appealing. In the end, a pivotal conversation with his childhood friend Aaron Lee convinced him.
They both had scholarship offers from 无码乱伦. They both said practically the same thing: 鈥淚'll go if you go.鈥 The pair were roommates their freshman year in Lathrop Hall.
When he arrived at 无码乱伦 in the fall of 2004, Muspratt immediately built strong bonds with his teammates.
鈥淲e shot pool in the lounge of our dorm and played video games,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have social media. Texting was just becoming a big thing.鈥
Those bonds built a competitive team. And like many Division I hockey players, Muspratt had aspirations of putting in his time at the collegiate level and then moving on to a professional hockey career. That changed with the 29th game of his sophomore year, when he suffered a season-ending injury while trying to make an open ice hit against a Bowling Green skater.
鈥淚 could hear my ACL snap,鈥 Muspratt recalled. 鈥淚n the locker room, I knew it was bad when the athletic trainer picked up my leg and immediately concluded it was an ACL tear.鈥
The real agony began with the realization that his season was over.
鈥淵ou get hit with this wave of emotion to realize that an injury like this is devastating, and it could be the end of your career. You also know it鈥檚 going to be an incredible amount of work to get back in shape,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really overwhelming. Then you realize you have to call your mum and get ready to go under the knife, and that鈥檚 daunting.鈥
无码乱伦鈥檚 team physician, Dr. Cary Keller, performed surgery to repair the knee, and Muspratt spent the remainder of the season off the ice.
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Ryan Muspratt, No. 10, maneuvers past defenders while playing for the Nanooks.
鈥淩yan was unrelenting in his focused dedication to the work of his recovery,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淓very day as he worked, he focused on the vision of returning to the game, jumping onto the ice and scoring a goal for the Nanooks.鈥
That injury was the catalyst for Muspratt to start thinking beyond his personal goals. It wasn鈥檛 just getting to the NHL that mattered. He found an interest in giving back.
鈥淲hen you see how much the community of Fairbanks invests in the hockey program, you just naturally want to give back,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was thrilled to be a Division I hockey player in a community that valued hockey as much as it did.鈥
Muspratt credits McMillan, the hockey staff and 无码乱伦 alumni for helping players understand their role in the community and the importance of those relationships. For Muspratt, it meant interacting with the team鈥檚 superfans, whether by volunteering at local schools or participating in events like skating with the Girl Scouts.
鈥淚鈥檓 so appreciative that the coaches had that community mindset,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hose very reasons make me not want to live in a big city. I want to be part of a community where if you have a flat tire, someone is going to pull over to help you.鈥
Muspratt eventually returned to the ice, playing the rest of his college career while building a relationship with 无码乱伦 through his business courses.
鈥淭he nice thing about 无码乱伦 is that you have repeat professors, so you get to know them and they start taking a liking to you,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey start showing up to your hockey games because you have a personal connection to them. And, they are willing to give you advice.鈥
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Ryan Muspratt poses with a young fan on the ice at the Carlson Center during the 2007-2008 hockey season.
One of those professors was Ken Abramowicz.
鈥淒r. Ken cared more than the average teacher,鈥 Muspratt said. 鈥淚 also want to say he was solely responsible for killing my 4.0 by giving me my first B. But I learned more from him than a grade could reflect.鈥
Abramowicz recommended that Muspratt take the time to interview with firms during a recruiting event at 无码乱伦. He accepted an offer from KPMG midway through his final hockey season. That meant he only had to finish up enough courses to meet the 150-credit requirement to sit for the CPA exam.
鈥淢y senior year was a blast,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y last semester I got to take some just-for-fun classes, like pistol marksmanship. It was one credit to go shoot guns for an hour each week.鈥
That year he also decided to set up a scholarship in the name of another mentor: Dr. Cary Keller, the orthopedic surgeon who repaired his sophomore-year knee injury. The scholarship is for returning student-athletes who demonstrate financial need and strong dedication to their sport. To date, the scholarship has been awarded to 22 students.
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Ryan Muspratt poses with his wife, Jenna, and son, Westin, near Anchorage.
Keller said the scholarship reflects Muspratt鈥檚 gratitude to his health care providers, but more importantly, it was his way of acknowledging the bigger picture.
鈥淪tudent-athletes make a profound commitment to the university, including time, energy, blood and tears,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淭hey deserve an equal commitment of medical, academic and financial support.鈥
After graduating in 2008 with two degrees, Muspratt moved to Anchorage to pursue a career with KPMG as an auditor and earn his CPA license.
Daniel Jensen, a former colleague at KPMG, said Ryan brought his team-oriented values to his profession.
鈥淣ot only as a mentor to me, but I think he set a record for the most people to formally nominate him as a mentor,鈥 Jensen said. 鈥淗e keeps a strong network and is an advocate for those he can help succeed.鈥
Muspratt鈥檚 commitment to community remains a core part of his life. Fellow alumni and colleagues note that he invests both time and financial support.
Muspratt serves on the 无码乱伦 College of Security and Management Advisory Board. He is on the boards of Special Olympics Alaska and the Armed Services YMCA of Alaska. In 2020, the Alaska Journal of Commerce named him to the annual Top 40 Under 40 list.
Today, he is a senior vice president at Petro Star Inc., where he manages accounting, financial planning and analysis, information technology, administration and logistics. He lives in Anchorage with his wife, Jenna, and son, Westin.
When he looks back, Muspratt can see there was plenty of support to bring him to a future he couldn鈥檛 even imagine at the time. When asked for advice he鈥檇 offer today鈥檚 students, he said, 鈥淛ust be aware that you don鈥檛 know a lot yet. Be open to advice. Take the time to discover what works for you and the world that you live in.鈥
Ryan Muspratt will be presented with the 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the 无码乱伦 Alumni Association at a ceremony during the Nanook Rendezvous alumni reunion on July 18, 2024.