Riley Armstrong (ice hockey)

Riley Armstrong (born November 8, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and a former player. He is currently an assistant coach with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. 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
Riley Armstrong playing for SaiPa in 2012.
Born (1984-11-08) 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

Amateur

Armstrong 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

On 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

Armstrong 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
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
  1. "Pavelski scores 2 in Sharks 3-2 win over Coyotes". Yahoo Sports. November 29, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  2. "Flames sign Garth Murray, Riley Armstrong". Calgary Flames. July 2, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  3. "Wings acquire Riley Armstrong". Detroit Red Wings. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  4. "Panthers awarded the 11th foreigners licence; Riley Armstrong is from the KHL" (in German). Augsburger Panther. December 29, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  5. "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.
  6. "B-Sens Announce Roster Moves". Binghamton Senators. November 17, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  7. "B-SENS RECALL GOALTENDER STEWART, RELEASE FORWARD ARMSTRONG". Binghamton Senators. December 17, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  8. "Landshut announces new additions" (in German). EV Landshut. July 19, 2013. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  9. "Grizzlies announce first 3 player signings". Utah Grizzlies. August 4, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. "Forward Brandon Alderson assigned to Reading". Reading Royals. October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  11. "Nailers Name Armstrong as Assistant Coach". Wheeling Nailers Official Website. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  12. "Flyers announce additions & promotions to hockey operations staff". Philadelphia Flyers. August 2, 2021.
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