Little Making Big Waves in Atlanta!

Little makes big splash at Thrashers camp
 Author: Jim Barber Date: Sep 18, 2007

Bryan Little served notice recently he'll be heard from in Atlanta livery.

Former Barrie Colts captain Bryan Little has been impressive so far at the training camp for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League.

The 19-year-old first-round pick for the Thrashers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the top scorer for Atlanta during the recent eight-team Prospect Evaluation Tournament, hosted by the Detroit Red Wings in Traverse City, Michigan last week. The teams were divided into two groups of four, with Atlanta prospects playing in the eastern conference, along with top prospects from the New York Rangers, Red Wings, and Tampa Bay Lighting.

The western conference featured the best young players from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues.

In Atlanta’s opening game, Little, who was named captain of the team, scored twice in the third period to give the Thrashers a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Wings. The goals came within six minutes of each other.

Against the Rangers in the second game of the mini-tournament, Little scored once in the third period to make the score 4-3 for New York, but Atlanta would surrender another tally to make the final 5-3.

Little then scored once again, and added an assist as the young Thrashers defeated their Southeast Division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lighting 6-4. Showing a knack for scoring important goals late in the game, a trait which he amply demonstrated over his tenure with the Barrie Colts, Little’s goal came with a little less that two minutes left in regulation time to give Atlanta 5-4 lead. >> read more

Little making a big noise
Rookie, 19, could help out at center ice

By CRAIG CUSTANCE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution       Published on: 09/12/07

Traverse City, Mich. — He scored on his first two shots of the NHL prospects tournament. He scored the game-winning goals in the Thrashers' first two victories of the tournament. Through three games, he had four goals.

Bryan Little's next trick? Making that hole at center on the Thrashers' roster disappear.

The Thrashers have been pleased with the play of their prospects during the annual tournament, especially the forwards, but Little has stood out the most. By far.

There probably was some eye-rolling from cynical fans when general manager Don Waddell suggested the 19-year-old Little could contribute at the NHL level out of training camp. Last summer, defenseman Braydon Coburn and forward Alex Bourret were touted as rookies on the verge of playing. Both are out of the organization.

But Little could bury those disappointments. If he is going to play in the NHL this season, his bid needed to start with a strong showing in Traverse City. >> read more

Thrashers preparing to visit Hockeyville
By Chris DawsonBayToday.ca
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Little looks good for Wolves
By Craig Custance | Monday, May 14, 2007
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thrashers forward Bryan Little will likely be a player to watch this Monday in Hockeyville.

This is the first of three special features which can be seen here on BayToday.ca as Sports Director Chris Dawson traveled to the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City.

Don Waddell has a lot of decisions to make in the next few weeks.

For the past five days the Atlanta Thrashers G.M. has been watching his young prospects very closely as they took part in the 10th annual NHL Prospects tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

The Thrashers finished up third overall in the 8-team tournament with a 3 and 1 record.

Waddell is taking a very long look at Thrashers forward Bryan Little. The Barrie Colts forward was the Thrashers top pick in the 2006 draft and finished second in scoring at the tournament with 4 goals and 3 assists in four games. >> read more

Plenty to talk about in today’s weekly edition of the Thrashers beat blog. First, my impressions of the Chicago Wolves. They cruised to a win, and advanced to the next round of the Calder Cup playoffs. But for Thrashers fans, that’s not important. The debut of newly signed Bryan Little was the news of the night.

He didn’t play much, and he was playing out of position, but the biggest thing was that he fit right in. Here’s a kid fresh out of junior, making his debut in the middle of the playoffs and he played like he’d been there all season. At one point he used his speed on a breakaway, drawing a penalty. From my perspective, I thought it could have been a penalty shot but he told me that he was told on the ice that he didn’t have enough control of the puck. >> read more

Little to soar with Thrashers; All-time Colts scoring leader signs entry-level contract with Atlanta
GENE PEREIRA Sports - Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Signed and sealed, now Bryan Little hopes to deliver. The Barrie Colts captain and all-time scoring leader capped off what has been a remarkable year by signing a pro contract with the Atlanta Thrashers this weekend. With negotiations behind him, the Thrashers' first-round selection, 12th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Little can now concentrate on what he loves doing best - playing hockey. "I kind of had a feeling it would come shortly after the season was over," Little, from his home in Cambridge, said of the negotiations. "I was talking with them right after the season was over, and finally it's done now." A deal between the Thrashers and Little could have possibly been completed earlier, but the NHL club didn't want to take the star centre's focus away from the OHL playoffs until the Colts were eliminated two weeks ago by the Sudbury Wolves. "I'm really excited now," Little said. >> read more
Wolves Ink NHL First Round Pick
Chicago Wolves Release - Posted on Apr 30, 2007

The Chicago Wolves have signed center BRYAN LITTLE, the Atlanta Thrashers' first-round pick (12th overall) in the 2006 National Hockey League draft, to an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO).

The 19-year-old forward, who joins defenseman BORIS VALABIK as the second first-rounder on the Wolves current roster, ranked sixth in the Ontario Hockey League with 66 assists and shared sixth with 107 points in 57 games with the Barrie Colts. LITTLE paced the Colts with nine points (4G, 5A) in eight postseason contests before the squad was eliminated in the East DIvision Final.

The Edmonton, Alberta native helped Team Canada capture the Gold Medal at the 2007 World Junior Championships in January, notching two points (G, A) in six games to help the squad post a perfect 6-0-0 record in the tournament, which was held in Mora and Leksand, Sweden. >> read more