| Bryan Little | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 12, 1987 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Winnipeg Jets Atlanta Thrashers |
| NHL Draft | 12th overall, 2006 Atlanta Thrashers |
| Playing career | 2007–present |
Bryan Little (born Bryan Matthew Little on November 12, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1st round (12th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing Career[]
Bryan played much of his minor hockey for the Cambridge Hawks of the Alliance Pavilion League until 2001-02 season.
He then played for the Cambridge Winter Hawks Jr.B hockey team when he was 14 years old while attending Southwood Secondary School until he was 15 years old when he moved on to the OHL Barrie Colts.
Bryan was selected in the 3rd round (50th overall) in the 2003 OHL Draft after a standout season with the Winter Hawks.
Bryan was selected first round (12th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championship.
Bryan played Junior B for the Cambridge Winter Hawks. After four seasons playing for the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in which he played in 2006 CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game, he joined the Thrashers' farm team, the Chicago Wolves for two games in the 2007 playoffs, recording no points or penalties.
According to one local columnist, "He didn’t play much, and he was playing out of position, but the biggest thing was that he fit right in ... he played like he'd been there all season."
Bryan signed a three-year NHL entry level contract with the Atlanta Thrashers and was committed to them up to the end of the 2009–10 NHL season. He made the Thrashers out of training camp in 2007 and joined the team full-time.
Bryan made his NHL debut on October 5, 2007, scoring in his first game, the first Thrasher ever to do so.
Midway through the season, Bryan was demoted to the Wolves where he would go on to win the 2008 Calder Cup Championship. He would spend the entire 2008–09 NHL season with the Thrashers, scoring 31 goals.
He re-signed with the Atlanta Thrashers as a restricted free agent in August 2010. He signed a three-year contract worth $7.15 million.
Due to team relocation, Bryan now plays for the Winnipeg Jets. When the team relocated to Winnipeg, he changed his uniform number from #10 to #18 out of respect for Dale Hawerchuk who played for the original Winnipeg Jets.
Prior to going to arbitration, Bryan and the Winnipeg Jets agreed to a 5-year, $23.5 million contract on July 22, 2013. In the first year of his new contract in the 2013–14 season, he had a career year offensively, putting up 64 points, playing in all 82 games.
Career Statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | Cambridge Winterhawks | MWJBHL | 40 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 64 | 34 | 24 | 58 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 7 | ||
| 2004–05 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 62 | 36 | 32 | 68 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 64 | 42 | 67 | 109 | 99 | 14 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 19 | ||
| 2006–07 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 57 | 41 | 66 | 107 | 77 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 48 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 34 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 79 | 31 | 20 | 51 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 79 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 76 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 74 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 48 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 82 | 23 | 41 | 64 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 70 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 556 | 146 | 197 | 343 | 207 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Canada Ontario | U17 | Template:Goca | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2005 | Canada | IH18 | Template:Goca | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2007 | Canada | WJC | Template:Goca | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 18 | ||||
International Play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Template:Ih18 | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament | ||
| Gold | 2005 Piešťany | |
| IIHF World U20 Championship | ||
| Gold | 2007 Sweden | |
Bryan was first selected in an international tournament for the Team Ontario in 2003–04 in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Newfoundland, winning a gold medal.
He was then included with Canadian National Under-18 Summer Team at the 2004 World Junior Cup in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Invited to the December 2005 Canadian World Junior hockey team selection camp.
He was a member of the gold-medal winning 2007 Canadian World Junior hockey team.
Accolades[]
- 2003–04: OHL Rookie of the Year
- 2004–05: Eastern Conference OHL All-Star.
- 2005–06: Barrie Colts team Captain.
- 2006–07: Set the Barrie Colts current club record for most goals scored with the team.
- 2006–07: Set the Barrie Colts current club record for most points earned with the team.
- 2010–11: Dan Snyder Memorial Award
- 2013-14: Dan Snyder Memorial Award
Personal Life[]
Bryan and his wife Brittany, currently reside in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada when he is not living in Winnipeg during the hockey season. He is known to like to keep his personal life to himself and does not interact at all on social media.