By Ken Wiebe /

Travis Ramsey had no idea that turning his back on water polo in high school might lead to a career in professional hockey.
The move to say good-bye to tending goal in the pool and work on his defensive game inside the rink was a wise one for the 26-year-old from Lakewood, Calif.
After completing his collegiate career as the captain of the University of Maine Black Bears in the spring of 2008, Ramsey signed an amateur tryout offer with the Manitoba Moose and got his first taste of the pro game.
The 6-5, 225-pound blueliner was viewed as more of a long-term project, but after bouncing between the ECHL and the American Hockey League last season, Ramsey has emerged as a solid contributor.
In fact, he could be the latest in a line of undrafted players who play with the Moose and eventually earn an NHL contract with the parent Vancouver Canucks — following the likes of Rick Rypien and Alex Burrows, to name
a few.
While playing in the NHL remains a long-term goal, Ramsey is focusing solely on improving as a player.
“I try not to read too much into it, I’m just grateful to be playing here,” said Ramsey, who had two goals and nine points in 36 games with the Moose last season. “I’ll let the chips fall where they fall. I know (the Canucks brass) come to these games and I want to keep on playing well so that maybe something can happen down the road.”
Ramsey got a big thrill in September when he suited up in his first NHL pre-season game with the Canucks against the Anaheim Ducks in his home state of California.
“It was a really cool experience, how the stars aligned so I could play in my hometown,” said Ramsey, who played the 2003/04 season with Salmon Arm of the British Columbia Hockey League (Junior A).
“It was unreal. Going into camp with the Canucks, I didn’t even think I’d get to play any exhibition games. A lot of my family came out, especially aunts and uncles who had never seen me play.”
Ramsey got a late start in hockey, playing his first year as a 13- or 14-year-old and his passion for the sport came from watching Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings during their run to the Stanley Cup final in 1993.
“I thought it was pretty cool for (Gretzky) to be in our town,” said Ramsey. “All the kids my age took an interest in hockey. We never really looked at it before, but we were paying attention and rooting for him. We felt fortunate to have a player like that in our backyard.”
Moose head coach Scott Arniel has watched Ramsey make the jump from a guy on the bubble to a reliable blueliner, who regularly plays 20 minutes per game.
“He’s a big-bodied guy who moves pretty well and plays a physical game,” said Arniel. “He’s more of that shutdown kind of D-man. By going to Vancouver’s camp and playing in some NHL exhibition games, he probably realizes he wasn’t that far away from being a real good player at this level and maybe one day being a player at the next level.
“Sometimes that is just an eye-opener. He gained a ton of confidence this year and he’s taken that into this season. He’s played very well for us and is a big part of our penalty kill. He’s growing as a player.”

MOOSE NOTES
The Moose finally picked up the No. 1 centre they’d been searching for on Nov. 19 when the Anaheim Ducks assigned Erik Christensen for a conditioning stint that can last up to two weeks. Christensen, who was a prolific scorer in the Western Hockey League with the Kamloops Blazers and Brandon Wheat Kings, had no points in nine games with the Ducks this season. Russian rookie Sergei Shirokov continues to lead the Moose in scoring with nine goals and 17 points in 20 games. The Moose got Matt Pettinger back from the Canucks after the veteran forward cleared waivers on Nov. 21. Pettinger had one goal and two points in seven games with the Canucks. Moose goalie Cory Schneider returned from the Canucks and promptly led his team to a three-game winning streak. Schneider was buoyed by a 45-save performance for the Canucks in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 6.
Moose centre Mario Bliznak made his NHL debut on Oct. 30 against the Anaheim Ducks and appeared in one more game with the Canucks before he was returned to the minors.