Blair Riley (born November 1, 1985) is a retired

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who last played for the

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team play at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff are the reigning EIHL play-off champions, winning their third title in a row after beatin ...

of the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

(EIHL).

Playing career

Riley attended

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

where he played NCAA Division I college hockey with the

Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey The Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Ferris State University. The Bulldogs are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They play at Ewigleben Arena in ...

team. Following his graduation, Riley turned professional to join the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ari ...

for three games at the end of their

2009–10 AHL season The 2009–10 AHL season was the 74th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 regular-season games each from October 2 to April 11. This season featured the addition of one new team, the relocation of two others, and the ...

. On June 1, 2012, Riley was signed to his first NHL contract, agreeing to a one-year deal with the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

affiliate, the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. On July 16, 2013, after not tendered a new contract with the Islanders, Riley signed as a free agent to a one-year AHL contract with the

St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...

. He established an AHL career high with 21 points in 71 games before serving as an Alternate captain in his second season with the club in 2014–15. As a free agent, Riley signed a one-year contract with his sixth AHL team the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The He ...

, an affiliate of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

, on September 4, 2015. After 7 seasons within the AHL, Riley left North America as a free agent to sign a one-year deal with Northern Irish EIHL participant, the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cham ...

on August 8, 2016. On July 6, 2019, Riley signed for Belfast's league rivals

. On October 7, 2020, Riley announced his retirement from hockey after 10 professional seasons.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Blair 1985 births Living people Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Belfast Giants players Merritt Centennials players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cardiff Devils players Chicago Express players Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Las Vegas Wranglers players Nanaimo Clippers players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players St. John's IceCaps players San Antonio Rampage players Springfield Falcons players Stockton Heat players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Northern Ireland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States