Ryan Ellis Ryan Ellis ( born January 3 , 1991 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman . He is currently playing with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League . After his second OHL season , he 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 Cup s 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 . Playing career . 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 . 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 defencemen 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 High School , 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 iand 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 league 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 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 league 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 miss 10 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 league 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 . He 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 league 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 Despres 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 . International play . Ellis made his debut with Hockey Canada at the 2008 World U17 Hockey Challenge , representing Ontario , the tournament ' s host province . He scored his first international goal against Team Pacific on December 29 , 2007 , a game in which he was also chosen as Ontario ' s best player . Team Ontario won eight straight games as they won the tournament . With nine points in eight games , Ellis was the tournament ' s leading defenceman and was named to the All - Star Team , along with Ontario teammate Matt Duchene . Later that year , he was named to Canada ' s team for the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships in Russia . Leading his team in shots on goal , he helped Canada to a gold medal , defeating Russia 8 – 0 in the final . Ellis recorded a goal and an assist in the championship victory . Finishing with three goals and seven points , he was the tournament ' s leading defenceman . Four months later , he re - joined the national under - 18 team for the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament , held in Slovakia and the Czech Republic . Ellis led all team defencemen in scoring with five points ( a goal and four assists ) , helping Canada go undefeated in four games . They defeated Russia 6 – 3 in the final to capture the gold medal . Moving on to the Canada ' s under - 20 team , he made his first of three World Junior Championship appearances in 2009 . Named to the team at 17 years old , he was one of three draft - eligible players on the club with John Tavares and Evander Kane . Head coach Pat Quinn had coached Ellis previously at the World U18 Championships . He selected Ellis to the team as the eighth defencemen , instead of choosing a traditional 13th forward , because of his abilities on the power play . In the semifinal against Russia , Ellis was instrumental in tying the game with five seconds remaining in regulation . Preventing the puck from being cleared out of the offensive zone twice , he took a shot towards the net that resulted in Jordan Eberle ' s game - tying goal . Canada beat Russia in a shootout before defeating Sweden in the final to win gold . Ellis scored seven points over six games to finish fourth among tournament defencemen in scoring . It also set a Canadian record for most points by a 17 - year - old defenceman . The following year , Ellis returned for the 2010 World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan . Canada went undefeated in the tournament until the gold medal game , where they lost to the United States in overtime . The defeat ended Canada ' s five - year gold medal streak at the World Juniors and marked the first time Ellis competed in an international competition without winning gold . He finished with eight points over six games , ranking second among tournament defencemen behind teammate Alex Pietrangelo . As a two - time veteran of Canada ' s junior team , Ellis opted not to attend their annual summer evaluation camp . In December 2010 , he was named to the squad as one of four returning players for the 2011 World Junior Championships , held in Buffalo , New York . Ellis became the seventh player in Canadian history to play three times in the tournament . He was later chosen as team captain . Ellis began the tournament tied with Pietrangelo as the country ' s all - time top - scoring defenceman at the World Juniors . By scoring a goal in the opening game against Russia , a 6 – 3 win for Canada , he broke the tie to take the all - time scoring lead among Canadian defencemen . Later in the tournament , Ellis recorded three assists in a game against Norway , making him the World Juniors ' all - time leading scorer among defencemen , passing Finnish defenceman Reijo Ruotsalainen ' s mark of 21 points . In the quarterfinal , he assisted on a goal against Switerland to break Eric Lindros ' s 19 - assist record as Canada ' s all - time leader at the tournament . Playing Russia in the gold medal game , Ellis scored the opening goal in a 5 – 3 losing effort , earning silver for the second consecutive year . Finishing the tournament with three goals and 10 points to lead all blueliners , he earned Best Defenceman and All - Star Team honours . He was additionally voted by tournament coaches as one of Canada ' s best three players . With 25 points over three years at the tournament , he tied Jordan Eberle as Canada ' s second - best scorer of all - time , behind Lindros ' 31 points . Playing style . Ellis is an offensive defenceman . A fast skater and skilled stickhandler , he is capable of maneuvering the puck up the ice from the defensive zone . Known as a power play specialist , he often " quarterbacks " from the blueline – controlling puck distribution between teammates in the offensive zone – and possesses a hard and accurate shot . He is also a physical player , though he is undersized as a defenceman at 5 feet and 9 inches ( 1 . 75 metres ) . He is able to compensate for his lack of overpowering strength with good defensive positioning and active stick - checking . Personal life . Ellis was born in Freelton , Ontario , to parents Jim and Mary Lou . He has one sister , Erica . Moving away from home for his junior career , he attended St . Anne High School . In February 2010 , Ellis was selected as his hometown Hamilton / Burlington area ' s 2009 Golden Horseshoe Athlete of the Year , beating out college quarterback Danny Brannagan and marathon runner Reid Coolsaet .