Riley Armstrong (born November 8, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and a former player. He is currently the director of player development Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League since 2023. He played two games with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a forward during the 2008–09 season.
| Riley Armstrong | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
November 8, 1984 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
San Jose Sharks Barys Astana Augsburger Panther SaiPa HC Vita Hästen | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2004–2016 | ||
Playing career
editAmateur
editArmstrong was born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He attended Sacred Heart High School in Yorkton, Saskatchewan for grade 11 and 12 while playing AAA Midget, and also St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon with his brother Colby Armstrong, who also played in the NHL.
After playing minor hockey with the Saskatoon Redwings (and figure skating out of Martensville and Saskatoon Figure Skating Club, coached by his mother Rosemary), Armstrong left to play Midget AAA with the Yorkton Mallers, where he scored 44 goals and 77 points in 40 games, finishing 3rd in league scoring. Armstrong began playing for the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2002–03 season, scoring 6 goals. He was then traded to the Everett Silvertips during the 2003–04 season, scoring 18 goals.
Professional
editOn September 15, 2004, he was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks. Armstrong was immediately sent down to the Cleveland Barons for two seasons, scoring a combined 12 goals. Armstrong spent the next three years with new Sharks affiliate, the Worcester Sharks before he made his NHL debut in the 2008-09 season with San Jose on November 29, 2008, in a 3–2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes playing on a line with Jeremy Roenick and Jody Shelley.[1]
On July 2, 2009, Armstrong signed with the Calgary Flames.[2] He was then assigned to its affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. On March 3, 2010, Armstrong was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, linking up with their affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.[3] He joined the Utah Grizzlies in November 2010, playing in two games and recording two assists and four penalty minutes. He was signed by Barys Astana on November 21, 2010. In late 2010 on December 29, Armstrong was signed on to play with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the remainder of the season.[4]
Armstrong was signed to a contract by the Elmira Jackals on October 8, 2011.[5] After seven games with the team, Armstrong was signed to a PTO contract by the Binghamton Senators on November 17, 2011.[6] He was later released back to Elmira on December 17.[7] Armstrong signed with Finnish team SaiPa on December 25, 2011, and finished the season with the team.
Without a contract extension offer from SaiPa, Armstrong had an unsuccessful try-out with HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss NLA before returning to the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL for the commencement of the 2012–13 season where he was captain of the Grizzlies.
On July 19, 2013, Armstrong signed as a free agent to return to Europe on a one-year contract with German club, EV Landshut of the DEL2.[8]
Following another season in Europe in Sweden and Germany with HC Vita Hästen and Heilbronner Falken respectively, Armstrong returned as a free agent for a third stint with the Utah Grizzlies, signing a one-year contract on August 4, 2015.[9] Prior to the 2015–16 season, Armstrong was placed on waivers by the Grizzlies and was claimed by the Reading Royals on October 11, 2015.[10]
Coaching career
editArmstrong ended his playing career in 2016, opting to pursue a career in coaching. On August 31, 2016, he was announced as the new assistant coach for the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL under head coach Jeff Christian.[11] On February 17, 2018, he was announced as the inaugural head coach of the Maine Mariners of the ECHL.
Over his first two seasons as head coach, he led the team to a 69–58–7 record. The Mariners then sat out the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, he joined the Philadelphia Flyers' coaching staff as an assistant with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.[12]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | Kootenay Ice | WHL | 65 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 2003–04 | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 69 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 119 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 46 | ||
| 2004–05 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 70 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 64 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 73 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 64 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 71 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 101 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 46 | ||
| 2008–09 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Abbotsford Heat | AHL | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Barys Astana | KHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Augsburger Panther | DEL | 17 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Elmira Jackals | ECHL | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | SaiPa | SM-l | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 38 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 120 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2012–13 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | EV Landshut | DEL2 | 45 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 99 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Vita Hästen | Allsv | 25 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Heilbronner Falken | DEL2 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Reading Royals | ECHL | 26 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 387 | 83 | 104 | 162 | 547 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 58 | ||||
| NHL totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Pavelski scores 2 in Sharks 3-2 win over Coyotes". Yahoo Sports. November 29, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ "Flames sign Garth Murray, Riley Armstrong". Calgary Flames. July 2, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ "Wings acquire Riley Armstrong". Detroit Red Wings. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ "Panthers awarded the 11th foreigners licence; Riley Armstrong is from the KHL" (in German). Augsburger Panther. December 29, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "Jackals add Cousineau, Armstrong prior to home preseason contest". Elmira Jackals. October 8, 2011. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
- ^ "B-Sens Announce Roster Moves". Binghamton Senators. November 17, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ "B-SENS RECALL GOALTENDER STEWART, RELEASE FORWARD ARMSTRONG". Binghamton Senators. December 17, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ "Landshut announces new additions" (in German). EV Landshut. July 19, 2013. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ "Grizzlies announce first 3 player signings". Utah Grizzlies. August 4, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Forward Brandon Alderson assigned to Reading". Reading Royals. October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ^ "Nailers Name Armstrong as Assistant Coach". Wheeling Nailers Official Website. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- ^ "Flyers announce additions & promotions to hockey operations staff". Philadelphia Flyers. August 2, 2021.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database