Born in Simcoe, Ontario, Ryan VandenBussche played three seasons with the Cornwall/Newmarket Royals franchise in the early 1990s and was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played for 3 teams throughout his NHL career with New York Rangers (1996–1998) Chicago Blackhawks (1998–2004) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–2006). VandenBussche’s role was as an enforcer. He has the distinction of being pound for pound one of the toughest enforcer’s at the NHL level.
