Michael Little (born November 12, 1987), better known as Mike Little, is an American 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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He is currently playing for

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team ( SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams ( SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey t ...

of the

Metal Ligaen Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The league consists of 9 professional teams. The name of the league has changed many times, but is being sponsored by Dansk Metal and therefore got the name Metalligaen. History It is a ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

Playing career

Following his four-year NCAA career at

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who soug ...

, Little spent time in the ECHL (with the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown Re ...

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yo ...

and the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ( ...

) and in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

and 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 ...

. The 2014-15 ECHL season saw him haul in 53 points in 60 games for the

. For his efforts, he was named to the All-ECHL First Team and received All-ECHL Defenseman of the Year honors. On June 2, 2015, the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

, Germany's elite ice hockey league, signed Little to a try-out contract for the 2015–16 season. 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. Little was quickly signed in the neighbouring

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

to a one-year contract with the

Graz 99ers The Moser Medical Graz 99ers are an Austrian professional ice hockey team from Graz, Styria. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers starte ...

on September 10. In mid-November 2015, he agreed on a short-term deal with the

Kassel Huskies The EC Kassel Huskies are a professional ice hockey club based in Kassel, Hessen, Germany. The club currently competes in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. The Huskies were founded in 1977 and have competed in the top five levels o ...

of the German second division

DEL2 DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the ''Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (DEL) and ahead of the '' Oberliga''. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct '' 2nd Bundesliga'', DEL2 is administered by ESBG, ...

and had his contract extended until the end of the 2015-16 season later that month. 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

(DEL), signing with

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liabi ...

for the 2016–17 season on April 26, 2016. 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.

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1987 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey players Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Florida Everblades players Graz 99ers players Kassel Huskies players Krefeld Pinguine players Norfolk Admirals players Reading Royals players Springfield Falcons players Stockton Thunder players SønderjyskE Ishockey players People from Enfield, Connecticut Sportspeople from Hartford County, Connecticut {{US-icehockey-defenseman-stub