Former first round pick officially has career ended by injuries

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Josh Tupper
June 22, 2024 (10:07)

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Years after he played his last game, Bryan Little has finally confirmed his retirement having his career cut short by injuries.

Recently, Bryan Little conducted an interview with Guelph Today where he discussed what he's been doing since his career-ending injury and in the article, said that he will officially retire from the National Hockey League when his contract expires, which is June 30th.

"It's more just kind of a technicality thing being on their books. My heart was still in Winnipeg and I was still following those guys because I knew a lot of the guys on the team still. It's July that I'm officially retired so it'd be nice to be done with that." Little said.

The 36-year-old hasn't played in the NHL since early in the 2019-20 season when he took a Nikolaj Ehlers slapshot to the side of the head, leaving him with a perforated ear drum and a concussion. Little said that there were days where he felt fine and wanted to return, but after consulting with multiple specialists, none of them recommended that he returns to a contact sport.

"One of the things that was the toughest about it was that I felt fine," he said. "It was just the unpredictable nature of what happens if I get hit really bad again. That was kind of the thing that kept me from playing again and believe me I saw a lot � I saw three or four specialists and none of them recommended playing contact sports again. It was tough but days like today when I kind of found something else to be passionate about, it definitely helps."

The Atlanta Thrashers picked Little with the 12th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Little joined the team prior to the 2007�08 season, having had an amazing junior career with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, who retired his number back in 2020.

Little had 217 goals and 304 assists for 521 points in 843 career games with the Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets. He also had 293 penalty minutes and a minus-15 rating. In 27 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including a trip to the Western Conference Final in 2017, he collected 12 points.

Source: Guelph Today
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