Bryan Little

Early life

Although Little was born in Edmonton, Alberta, he was raised in Cambridge, Ontario. He grew up with his younger brother Shawn and his parents, Brenda and John. Little 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 at the age of 14, while he attended Southwood Secondary School until age 15, when he moved on to the OHL Barrie Colts. Little was selected in the 3rd round (50th overall) in the 2003 OHL Draft after a standout season with the Winter Hawks.

Playing career

Little 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. He 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. Little 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."

Little 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. He made his NHL debut on October 5, 2007, scoring in his first game, the first Thrasher ever to do so. Midway through the season, he 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.

Little re-signed with the Atlanta Thrashers as a restricted free agent in August 2010. He signed a three-year contract worth $7.15 million. He is now committed to them up until the end of the 2012–13 NHL season. Due to team relocation he 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, Little 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, Little had a career year offensively, putting up 64 points, playing in all 82 games.

International play

Little 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. Little was a member of the gold-medal winning 2007 Canadian World Junior hockey team.

Personal life

Little and his wife Brittany, currently reside in Cambridge, Ontario, when he is not living in Winnipeg during the hockey season. Little is known to like to keep his personal life to himself, and does not interact at all on social media.

Awards & Honors