Mike Little (ice hockey)

Michael Little (born November 12, 1987), better known as Mike Little, is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently playing for SønderjyskE of the Metal Ligaen in Denmark.

Mike Little
Born (1987-11-12) November 12, 1987
Enfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
Metal Ligaen team
Former teams		 SønderjyskE
Norfolk Admirals
Charlotte Checkers
Springfield Falcons
Graz 99ers
Krefeld Pinguine
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

Following his four-year NCAA career at American International College, Little spent time in the ECHL (with the Reading Royals, Stockton Thunder and the Florida Everblades) and in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, the Charlotte Checkers and the Springfield Falcons.[1]

The 2014-15 ECHL season saw him haul in 53 points in 60 games for the Florida Everblades. For his efforts, he was named to the All-ECHL First Team and received All-ECHL Defenseman of the Year honors.[2][3]

On June 2, 2015, the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Germany's elite ice hockey league, signed Little to a try-out contract for the 2015–16 season.[4] Upon completion of the pre-season with the Roosters, and despite positive reviews, Little was not extended to a season long contract and was released from Iserlohn on September 7, 2015.[5] Little was quickly signed in the neighbouring Austrian Hockey League to a one-year contract with the Graz 99ers on September 10.[6] In mid-November 2015, he agreed on a short-term deal with the Kassel Huskies of the German second division DEL2 and had his contract extended until the end of the 2015-16 season later that month.[7] He made a total of 47 appearances for the Kassel team, scoring 16 goals, while dishing out 35 assists, and helped the Huskies win the DEL2 championship.

Little then moved to Germany's top-tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), signing with Krefeld Pinguine for the 2016–17 season on April 26, 2016.[8] He appeared in 51 games, however, was unable to prevent the team from finishing last. Little left the club on March 3, 2017, after it was revealed he would not be offered a new contract.[9]

Awards and honors
Award Year
ECHL First Team All-Star 2014–15 [10]
ECHL Defenseman of the Year 2014–15 [11]

References
  1. "Mike Little". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  2. "The ECHL - Premier 'AA' Hockey League | All-ECHL First Team announced". www.echl.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  3. "The ECHL - Premier 'AA' Hockey League | Little named CCM Hockey ECHL Defenseman of the Year". www.echl.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  4. "Rooster sign American Mike Little". come-on.de (in German). June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  5. "Michel Periard replaces Mike Little". Iserlohn Roosters (in German). September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  6. "Graz commit to Mike Little". Graz 99ers. September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  7. GmbH, Thomas Röstel, Matthias Geissler - Sports Trade. "Mike Little bleibt bei den Huskies | del-2.org". del-2.org. Retrieved February 13, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Schalljo. "DEL2-Meister Mike Little wechselt zu den Krefeld Pinguinen". portal.krefeld-pinguine.de. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  9. "First discussions on squad management taken place". Krefeld Pinguine (in German). March 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  10. "All-ECHL First Team announced". ECHL. April 1, 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  11. "Little named ECHL defenseman of the year". ECHL. April 1, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
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