Ryan Ellis

At 33 years old, Ryan Ellis has this physical status:

Ryan James Ellis (born January 3, 1991) is a professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing and benignly with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. (NHL). Ellis was drafted 11th overall by the Predators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, his second season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

He was instrumental in the Windsor Spitfires' back-to-back Memorial Cups as Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champions in 2009 and 2010.

He was selected to the CHL and OHL All-Rookie Teams in 2008, the First OHL All-Star Team in 2009 and 2011, and the Second OHL All-Star Team in 2010.

In 2008, he was named OHL's top defenceman of the year in 2009, 2011, and the Red Tilson Trophy as the league's best defenceman in 2011.

He was named CHL Defenceman and Player of the Year in 2011 on a national basis.

He served as the Spitfires' team captain from 2010-2011, becoming the franchise's all-time leading point scorer among defensemen. Ellis began his international career with Canada in 2008 by winning three gold medals at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, IIHF World U18 Championship, and the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Ellis has made three appearances at the World Junior Championships, winning gold in 2009 and silver in 2010, 2011, respectively.

He is both the tournament's best scorer and Canada's all-time assists leader.

At the 2016 World Championships, he also earned gold with Team Canada.

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Playing career

Ellis played minor hockey in Ontario, beginning with a Belmont, Ontario club, at the age of four. He competed for Mississauga's teams, earning gold and silver medals at the peewee and bantam provincial championships, respectively. He played for the Cambridge Hawks at the midget level and won an Ontario Alliance championship with the club in 2007.

Ellis was drafted in the second round, 22nd overall by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2007 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft. During his rookie season as a top defenceman in the league, he scored 15 goals and 63 points in 63 games. All OHL rookie defensemen were ranked by his points total and +30 plus-minus rating. Ellis had five points in five games against the Sarnia Sting in the 2008 playoffs. He was invited to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and OHL All-Rookie Teams, as well as Spitfires teammate Taylor Hall. Ellis was lauded for his academic success, achieving an 81 percent average in university preparation courses at St. Anne Catholic High School in Belle River, earning him the League's Bobby Smith Trophy as the year's scholastic player of the year. Steven Stamkos of the Sting, a fellow nominee who had won it the previous year, received the award.

Ellis was named OHL Defenceman of the Month for October 2008 by the vinden. In February and March 2009, he was able to receive the award twice more during his campaign. He was voted OHL Player of the Week on November 3, after scoring seven points in the previous two games. Ellis made his second appearance in three games on April 20, 2009. During the season, he appeared in the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge. He appeared in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game as a member of the Western Conference at the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic and also participated in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Competition.

Ellis led all OHL defencemen and finished second in team scoring to Taylor Hall, rising to 22 goals, 67 assists, and 89 points in 57 games in 2008–09. He came in first in assists, seventh in points, and second in plus-minus rating (+52). Ellis was selected to the OHL First All-Star Team and given the Max Kaminsky Trophy, defeating P. K. Subban and Cameron Gaunce as the league's top defenseman. The distinction made him a finalist for the CHL Defenceman of the Year, but the Vancouver Giants' Jonathon Blum lost to the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants. In an annual poll of OHL coaches, Ellis was also named as the best player, longest shot, and best offensive defenseman in the Western Conference. Ellis later cited the most coveted award to date as theDacăr's most prestigious accolade to date.

Windsor is the top-ranked team in the OHL West in the 2009 OHL West, with the top-ranked team. Ellis scored 31 points in 20 games, tied for third in post-season scoring while assisting the Spitfires in the OHL's J. Ross Robertson Cup as the OHL champions. The Spitfires won the national major junior championship over the Kelowna Rockets after winning a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup. Ellis was named to the Tournament All-Star Team after scoring four points in six games.

Ellis attended his first NBA training camp with Nashville in September 2009, but he was later returned to Windsor after sufferingdiscovered a wrist injury. As a result, he missed ten games with the Spitfires, marking his season debut in early-November. He continued to work on recovering but concentrated on strengthening his defensive and physical capabilities. He finished third among league defensemen in point-scoring and was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team in 2009-2010, scoring 61 points in 48 games in 2009–10. In the ensuing post-season, Windsor defended both their OHL and Memorial Cup titles. Ellis had 33 points in 19 games in the OHL playoffs, tying for second in OHL scoring, behind Taylor Hall. Windsor defeated the Barrie Colts in the OHL Finals before defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 9–1 in the Memorial Cup Final. Ellis had three assists in the national championship game.

He had been back to junior for the 2010–11 season, attending his second Predators training camp. He was named team captain on his return to Windsor. He was named OHL Defenceman of the Month after scoring five goals and 17 points in November 2010. During the month, he tied for the All-time leading scorer among defensemen. In overtime against the London Knights on November 10, he scored the game-winning goal for his record-breaking 230th point with Windsor. Ellis was honoured in a pre-game ceremony on November 26 for his feat; the Oshawa Generals' game that night was called "Ryan Ellis Night" on Sunday. Ellis served as captain for Team OHL against Russia in November 2010. On February 25, 2011, he reached his 300th OHL point in his career. In a 4–2 victory over the Sault Ste., three others had an assist. Marie Greyhounds made history by becoming the third defenceman in OHL history, following Denis Potvin (330 points, 1968–73) and Rick Correau (329 points, 1987–92). He finished the season with 313 points all-time. His single-season total of 100 points (24 goals and 76 assists) set a career-high, leading all OHL defencemen by a 21-point margin. It was the first time an OHL defenceman scored 100 points in a season in over 17 years. He came in fifth overall among all OHL skaters. He was also named as the OHL's most outstanding defenceman and player after winning his second Max Kaminsky Trophy and first Red Tilson Trophy, respectively. Ellis defeated Simon Després and Stefan Elliott for the former award, while the latter was voted over Sean Couturier and Darcy Kuemper for the latter. It was the first time a player received both awards since Bryan Fogarty did so 22 years ago.

He was ranked as the 16th best prospect (fifth among defencemen) in North America going into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The Nashville Predators selected him in the first round, 11th overall. He was 5 foot and 9 inches (1.75 meters), and he was considered small for a defenseman. "He's not very tall," Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr said of him, "but you'll see... he's a hell of a hockey player." Ellis has openly denied any size worries, alluding to his physical fitness despite it. For his achievements as a small, offensive defenseman, he has been compared to Detroit Red Wings defenceman Brian Rafalski. Ellis scored his first NHL goal with the Predators in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on goaltender Justin Peters. Ellis re-signed Ellis to an eight-year, $50 million dollar salary beginning in the 2019-20 season on August 14, 2018.

Ellis was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Philippe Myers and Nolan Patrick on July 17, 2021.

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