“I’m probably not going to do too much flashy offensively,” Lannon said with a shrug. “But I’m comfortable with that by now.”

Reese, a sophomore and New York Rangers draft pick, said Lannon’s game is tailored for team play. And he enjoys reaping the benefits of playing alongside it.

“I think anyone would,” Reese said.

Another examination of game scorecards reveals Lannon’s profound effect on opposing offensive stars.

Last season, Harvard played Dartmouth in three games, once at each school’s rink and once in Albany, N.Y.

Stopping 6’6 Hugh Jessiman, one of the Big Green’s top scoring threats, was Lannon’s primary responsibility.

He came through.

“[Ryan] absolutely manhandled Hugh Jessiman,” sophomore Steve Mandes said.

In the three games, Jessiman, a first-round NHL pick, figured into only one scoring play—a tip-in on an early man advantage in November.

That was it.

“Gets the job done,” Mandes said.

As for this year? The assistant captain will share one of the nation’s stingiest defensive units with All-American Noah Welch, steady junior Peter Hafner, and Reese.

As a senior, Lannon will continue to lead by example.

“It’s scary, in a way, knowing that it’s your last year,” Lannon said. “But there’s also a little bit of excitement there, because you know it’s the last time.

“It’s the last time you have a conditioning test,” he said. “The last time you’re going to have this team meal with this team. The last time you’re going to have this initiation.”