According to the Canadian Press on Friday, National Hockey League right winger Bryan Little of Edmonton, Alberta has announced his retirement at the age of 36. He is retiring as a member of the Winnipeg Jets after signing a one day contract.
Little played 13 seasons in the NHL. He was with the Atlanta Thrashers for four years from 2007 to 2011, and then with the Winnipeg Jets for nine seasons from 2011 to 2020 after the Thrashers moved to Canada. In 843 regular season games, Little had 217 goals and 304 assists for 521 points. He was a -15 with 293 penalty minutes, 132 power-play points, 14 shorthanded points, 32 game-winning goals, 1649 shots on goal, 6290 faceoff wins, 285 blocked shots, 553 hits, 453 takeaways and 243 giveaways. Over the last four seasons, Little has been dealing with concussion issues.
Little was a first round draft pick by the Thrashers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. His finest season came in 2013-14 with the Jets when he had career highs in assists (41), and points (64).
At the junior level, Little had a memorable hockey career with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. He was the OHL Rookie of the Year for 2003-04 (58 points in 64 games), and then had back-to-back 100 point seasons with the Colts (109 points in 2005-06 and 107 points in 2006-07). Also as a junior, Little won a gold medal for Canada at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championship in Leksand, Sweden.
