Ryan Barnes was born January 30, 1980 in Dunnville, Ontario. The second round, 55th overall selection of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Barnes is a graduate of the OHL.
A hard-nosed winger, Barnes played three seasons in the OHL, with stops in Sudbury, Toronto and Barrie where he captured an OHL Championship in 99-2000 before making his professional debut in 2000-01. Barnes went on to split his first two professional seasons with the ECHLs Toledo Storm and the AHLs Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before joining the AHLs Grand Rapids Griffins in 2002-03.
In 2003-04, the Dunnville, Ontario native spent the majority of the season in Grand Rapids while making his NHL debut with Detroit midway through the season.
