Ryan Keller (born January 6, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in Switzerland, Finland, and various North American minor league teams, and the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League.

Ryan Keller
Keller playing for Espoo Blues in Finland, in February 2008
Born (1984-01-06) January 6, 1984 (age 40)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Espoo Blues
Ottawa Senators
Genève-Servette HC
ZSC Lions
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005–2016

Playing career

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Keller spent four seasons playing junior hockey in the Western Hockey League for the Saskatoon Blades. Since turning pro in 2005, Keller has had spells in the American Hockey League for the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Syracuse Crunch and also in the United Hockey League for the Muskegon Fury. In 2005, Keller played pre-season games for Sparta Warriors in Norway, before leaving to train with the NHL Detroit Red Wings. In 2007, he moved to Finland, signing for Espoo Blues. He played on the team for two seasons, leading the team in scoring in both seasons.[1]

Keller returned to North America in 2009 to sign with the Ottawa Senators. Keller was assigned to the Binghamton Senators to start the 2009–10 season. Keller was recalled to Ottawa on November 24, and he played his first NHL game on November 25, 2009 against the New Jersey Devils.[2] After leading Binghamton with 34 goals Keller was re-signed with a one-year contract by Ottawa on May 19, 2010.[3] Keller was named captain of the Senators who would go on to win the Calder Cup in 2011.

After playing for the Binghamton Senators of the AHL in 2010–11, as a free agent, on July 4, 2011, Keller signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[4]

He headed to Switzerland in 2012, joining Genève-Servette HC of the National League A (NLA) for the 2012-13 campaign. In 2013, he moved on to fellow NLA side ZSC Lions. He won the 2014 Swiss championship and the 2016 Swiss Cup with the Lions. Keller announced his retirement from professional ice hockey on July 13, 2016.[5]

He is a cousin of WHL player Riley Heidt and is expected first-round NHL draft pick in 2023. [6]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Saskatoon Blades WHL 52 18 23 41 58 7 1 2 3 14
2002–03 Saskatoon Blades WHL 66 38 41 79 101 6 7 1 8 8
2003–04 Saskatoon Blades WHL 72 24 20 44 59
2004–05 Saskatoon Blades WHL 67 40 33 73 63 4 1 1 2 9
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 10 1 0 1 14 13 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Muskegon Fury UHL 65 41 40 81 79 3 2 2 4 0
2006–07 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 38 9 8 17 26
2006–07 Syracuse Crunch AHL 22 5 9 14 14
2007–08 Espoo Blues SM-l 47 22 22 44 24 17 3 6 9 22
2008–09 Espoo Blues SM-l 54 21 34 55 38 14 9 7 16 4
2009–10 Binghamton Senators AHL 72 34 34 68 48
2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 6 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Binghamton Senators AHL 71 32 19 51 38 23 10 15 25 8
2011–12 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 71 21 28 49 38 14 5 5 10 14
2012–13 Genève-Servette HC NLA 46 12 13 25 4 6 0 3 3 2
2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 37 11 10 21 18 18 11 3 14 8
2014–15 ZSC Lions NLA 39 9 9 18 28 18 5 5 10 10
2015–16 ZSC Lions NLA 47 18 12 30 22 2 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Rosetown Red Wings ChHL 2 4 2 6 2
2017–18 Rosetown Red Wings ACHW 4 3 4 7 0
AHL totals 284 102 98 200 178 50 15 20 35 22
NHL totals 6 0 0 0 0

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Canada U18 8 2 0 2 14
Junior totals 8 2 0 2 14

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Canada WJC18 6th 8 2 0 2 14
Junior totals 8 2 0 2 14

Awards and honours

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Award Year
WHL
East Second All-Star Team 2005
AHL
Calder Cup (Binghamton Senators) 2011
All-Star Game 2012

References

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  1. ^ "Pistepörssi: Blues 2007–08 Päivitetty 26.11.2009 klo 21.58". SM-Liiga. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011.
  2. ^ Brodie, Rob (November 25, 2009). "Keller answers Senators' call". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
  3. ^ "Senators re-sign forward Ryan Keller to one-year contract". oursportscentral. May 19, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  4. ^ "Oilers add depth, signing Calder Cup hero Keller". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  5. ^ "Ryan Keller on Twitter". Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  6. ^ Zary, Darren (April 22, 2020). "WHL Bantam Draft: All in the family; elite skater Riley Heidt comes by hockey naturally". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
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