Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, 8th round, 173rd overall, VandenBussche spent his first seasons playing for various OHL and AHL teams. On August 22, 1995, he was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the New York Rangers. After two seasons in the AHL with the Rangers' farm team, the Binghamton Rangers, VandenBussche finally made his NHL debut for the 1996–97 season playing 11 games. The very next season, 1997–98, VandenBussche was split between four different teams in three different leagues. He played three games for the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL, fifteen games for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, sixteen games for the New York Rangers of the NHL, and since the Rangers traded him for Ryan Risidore on March 29, 1998, four games for the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL. VandenBussche remained a Blackhawk until the Pittsburgh Penguins signed him as an unrestricted free agent on July 12, 2004. On September 25, 2006, Jokerit of SM-liiga signed the forward for a try-out, which was terminated on November 5. After his tryout, VandenBussche signed with the New Mexico Scorpions as a player/coach, but retired in January for medical reasons. VandenBussche was not known as a goal scorer or play maker; in 310 NHL games, he scored 10 goals and 10 assists. VandenBussche's role was as an enforcer. He has the distinction of being pound for pound one of the toughest enforcers at the NHL level, and the man who ended the career of Nick Kypreos in a pre-season game in 1997.
Post career
In 2006 VandenBussche was charged with assault after he assaulted multiple officers and uttered death threats. He was cleared of the charges in 2008 due to a successful argument that his multiple concussions during his hockey career and a shove during the altercation rendered him a "non-insane automaton". VandenBussche and his wife Lisa currently sell real-estate with his father Ron as Team VandenBussche with ReMax Erie Shores in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada. Ryan is the founder of a charity called Stix n Pix which promotes the development of grass-roots hockey and music within the community and surrounding area. He has also partnered with Canadian Tire First Shift Program, which is an initiative to help get youth involved in hockey. VandenBussche was awarded the civilian Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service in 2017 for his multiple visits to overseas military bases, starting with a ball hockey game in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010.
