Ryan James Ellis (born January 3, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ellis was drafted eleventh overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2009 NHL entry draft, and played with them for nine seasons.
After his second season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Ellis was selected 11th overall by the Predators in the 2009 NHL entry draft. During his junior career, he was key in guiding the Windsor Spitfires to back-to-back Memorial Cups as Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champions in 2009 and 2010. Individually, he was named 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. He was awarded the OHL's Bobby Smith Trophy as the League's scholastic player of the year in 2008, the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the top defenceman in 2009 and 2011 and the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player in 2011. On a national basis, he was named CHL Defenceman and Player of the Year in 2011. Serving as the Spitfires' team captain in 2010–11, he became the franchise's all-time leading point-scorer among defencemen.
Ellis began his international career with Canada by winning three gold medals in 2008 at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, IIHF World U18 Championship and Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. At the under-20 level, Ellis has made three appearances at the World Junior Championships, winning gold in 2009 and silver in 2010 and 2011. He is the tournament's all-time leading scorer among defencemen and Canada's all-time assists leader. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2016 World Championships.
Playing career Minor Ellis played minor hockey throughout Ontario, beginning with a club from Belmont, Ontario, at age four. Playing for teams from Mississauga, he won a silver and gold medals at the peewee and bantam provincials, respectively. Joining the Cambridge Hawks at the midget level, he won an Ontario Alliance championship with the club in 2007.
Junior Ellis was selected in the second round, 22nd overall, by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2007 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft. Establishing himself as a top defenceman in the League during his rookie campaign, he scored 15 goals and 63 points over 63 games. His points total and +30 plus-minus rating led all OHL rookie defencemen. In the 2008 playoffs, Ellis added five points in five games as the Spitfires were eliminated by the Sarnia Sting. He was named to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and OHL All-Rookie Teams, along with Spitfires teammate Taylor Hall. Ellis was further recognized for his academic performance, maintaining 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 scholastic player of the year. He received the award over fellow nominee Steven Stamkos of the Sting, who had won it the previous year.
Ellis was named OHL Defenceman of the Month for October 2008 the following season. He earned the distinction twice more over the course of the campaign in February and March 2009. On November 3, he was chosen as OHL Player of the Week, having scored seven points in the previous two games. Ellis his second such distinction on April 20, 2009, registering two goals and five assists in three games. During the season, he represented the OHL in the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge. He also competed for the Western Conference at the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic and participated in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game.
Improving to 22 goals, 67 assists and 89 points in 57 games in 2008–09, Ellis led all OHL defencemen and finished second in team scoring to Taylor Hall. He ranked first in the league in assists, seventh in points and second in plus-minus rating (+52). As a result, Ellis was named to the OHL First All-Star Team and awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy, beating fellow nominees P. K. Subban and Cameron Gaunce as the League's top defenceman. The distinction made him a finalist for CHL Defenceman of the Year, but he lost to Jonathon Blum of the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Vancouver Giants. Ellis was additionally voted the smartest player, hardest shot and best offensive defenceman in the Western Conference in an annual poll of OHL coaches. Ellis later cited the smartest player selection as his most rewarding recognition to that date.
Windsor entered the 2009 OHL playoffs as the top-ranked team in the OHL West. Ellis added 31 points in 20 games, tying for third in post-season scoring while helping the Spitfires to a J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions. Earning a berth in the 2009 Memorial Cup, the Spitfires went on to win the national major junior championship over the Kelowna Rockets. Ellis recorded four points in six games to be named to the Tournament All-Star Team.
Going into the 2009 NHL entry draft, he was listed by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the 16th best prospect (fifth among defencemen) in North America. He was selected in the first round, 11th overall, by the Nashville Predators. Standing at 5 feet and 9 inches (1.75 metres), he was considered small for a defenceman. Addressing this supposed weakness, Hall of Fame defenceman Bobby Orr said of him, "he's not very big, but you'll see...he's a heck of a hockey player." Ellis has publicly discredited any size concerns, alluding to his ability to play physically in spite of it. He has been compared to Detroit Red Wings defenceman Brian Rafalski for his success as a small, offensive defenceman.
Ellis subsequently attended his first NHL training camp with Nashville in September 2009, but was returned to Windsor after suffering a wrist injury. As a result, he missed ten games with the Spitfires, making his season debut in early-November. Struggling offensively upon recovering, he focused on improving his defensive and physical play. Finishing the season with 61 points over 48 games in 2009–10, he ranked fourth among League defencemen in point-scoring and was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team. Windsor defended both their OHL and Memorial Cup championships in the ensuing post-season. Ellis scored 33 points over 19 games in the OHL playoffs, tying with Jeff Skinner for second in OHL scoring, behind Taylor Hall. Windsor beat the Barrie Colts in the OHL Finals before defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 9–1 in the Memorial Cup Final. Ellis recorded three assists in the national championship game.
Attending his second Predators training camp, he was again returned to junior for the 2010–11 season. Upon his return to Windsor, he was named team captain. After recording five goals and 17 points in November 2010, he was named OHL Defenceman of the Month. During the month, he surpassed Joel Quenneville as the Spitfires' all-time leading scorer among defencemen. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the London Knights on November 10 for his record-setting 230th career point with Windsor. Ellis was honoured in a pre-game ceremony on November 26 for the feat; the game that night against the Oshawa Generals was billed as "Ryan Ellis Night." Also in November, Ellis served as captain for Team OHL in the 2010 Subway Super Series against Russia. Several months later, he recorded his 300th career OHL point on February 25, 2011. Registering three assists in a 4–2 win against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he became the third defenceman in OHL history to reach the mark, following Denis Potvin (330 points, 1968–73) and Rick Corriveau (329 points, 1987–92). He completed the season with 313 points all-time. His single-season total of 100 points (24 goals and 76 assists) established a career-high while leading all OHL defencemen by a 21-point margin. It was the first time in over 17 years that an OHL defenceman scored 100 points in a season. Among all OHL skaters, he ranked fifth overall. After winning his second Max Kaminsky Trophy and first Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's most outstanding defenceman and player, respectively, he was further distinguished as CHL Defenceman and Player of the Year. Ellis beat out Simon Després and Stefan Elliott for the former recognition, while being voted over Sean Couturier and Darcy Kuemper for the latter. It was the first time a player won both awards since Bryan Fogarty did so 22 years prior.
Professional Nashville Predators organization Once the 2010–11 OHL season concluded, Ellis turned professional and joined the Predators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, for the remainder of their season. Upon joining the Admirals, he immediately made an impact by tallying his first assist 10 minutes and 30 seconds into Game 1 of the West Division Finals. He later tallied his first professional goal in his sixth playoff game to stave off elimination and force a Game 7.
Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, Ellis participated in the 2011 Florida Rookie Tournament where he led all team defensemen with two points. He played in five of Nashville's 2011 preseason contests, posting one assist and a +3 rating, before being assigned to the AHL for the 2011–12 season. Ellis immediately continued his production from the playoffs and tallied two assists in his first regular season AHL game. By mid-November, Ellis had accumulated three goals and five assists for eight points through 12 games. He also maintained a five game point streak from November 13 to 26. He improved to four goals and eight assists for 15 points by December 9. Later that month, he was tied for first among rookie defencemen and ninth among all AHL defencemen with 17 points through 26 games. As a result of his AHL success, Ellis was recalled to the NHL level on December 26. He played 13:37 minutes of ice time in his debut that night and was minus-one with two shots on goal against the Detroit Red Wings. His play also earned him a selection to the 2012 AHL All-Star Game although he was unable to participate as he was still with the Predators. In his fifth career NHL game on January 7, Ellis recorded his first NHL point on Patric Hornqvist’s second period power-play goal. Later that game, he tallied his first career NHL goal in the third period to help the Predators defeat the Carolina Hurricanes. Through his first 12 games at the NHL level, Ellis accumulated two goals and four assists for six points and a plus-4 rating. As he began earning the trust of head coach Barry Trotz, Ellis also saw time on the second power-play unit with Roman Josi. After being named a healthy scratch for one game, Ellis returned to the Predators lineup on February 15 and quickly tallied a goal and an assist for his third multi-point game of the season. He played in 22 games with the Predators, tallying three goals and six assists, before being re-assigned to the AHL on February 24. He posted one assist over three games before being recalled to the NHL level on February 27. As the Predators qualified for the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, Ellis made his postseason debut in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Detroit Red Wings. Although he remained pointless over the three games he played, the Predators beat the Red Wings and met with the Chicago Blackhawks.