Riley Armstrong (born November 8, 1984) is a

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 skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

coach and a former player. He is currently an assistant coach with the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. He played two games with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) as a

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 ...

during the 2008–09 season.

Playing career

Amateur

Armstrong was born in

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, but grew up in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. 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 Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens in a 9- ...

, 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 The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise wa ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) in the 2002–03 season, scoring 6 goals. He was then traded to the

Everett Silvertips The Everett Silvertips are an American major junior ice hockey team currently members of the U.S. Division in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Everett, Washington, and joined the WHL as an expansio ...

during the 2003–04 season, scoring 18 goals.

Professional

On September 15, 2004, he was signed as a free agent by the

. Armstrong was immediately sent down to the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

for two seasons, scoring a combined 12 goals. Armstrong spent the next three years with new Sharks affiliate, the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachu ...

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 The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

playing on a line with

Jeremy Roenick Jeremy Shaffer Roenick ( ; born January 17, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 8th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Chica ...

and

Jody Shelley Jody Shelley (born February 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. ...

. On July 2, 2009, Armstrong signed with 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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. He was then assigned to its affiliate, the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

. On March 3, 2010, Armstrong was traded to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, linking up with their affiliate, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey, hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National H ...

. He joined the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

in November 2010, playing in two games and recording two assists and four penalty minutes. He was signed by

Barys Astana Hockey Club Barys ( kk, Барыс хоккей клубы , translit=Barys Hokkei Kluby), also referred to as Barys Astana or HC Barys, is a professional ice hockey team based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is one of the founding members of the Kon ...

on November 21, 2010. In late 2010 on December 29, Armstrong was signed on to play with

Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburger EV ...

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 ...

for the remainder of the season. Armstrong was signed to a contract by the Elmira Jackals on October 8, 2011. After seven games with the team, Armstrong was signed to a PTO contract by the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

on November 17, 2011. He was later released back to Elmira on December 17. Armstrong signed with Finnish team

SaiPa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

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 Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Switzerland, Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and b ...

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. Following another season in Europe in Sweden and Germany with

HC Vita Hästen HC Vita Hästen is a Swedish hockey club, based in Norrköping, which was founded following the bankruptcy of a previous club called IK Vita Hästen. The team plays in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of the Swedish ice hockey system, as of t ...

and

Heilbronner Falken Heilbronner Falken (; 'Heilbronn Falcons') are a professional ice hockey team based in Heilbronn, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

respectively, Armstrong returned as a free agent for a third stint with the Utah Grizzlies, signing a one-year contract on August 4, 2015. 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.

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 The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

under head coach

Jeff Christian Jeffrey Christian (born July 30, 1970) is a Canadian-American former ice hockey forward who was drafted 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and ...

. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In August 2021, he joined the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

' coaching staff as an assistant with their

(AHL) affiliate, the

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Riley 1984 births Living people Abbotsford Heat players Augsburger Panther players Barys Nur-Sultan players Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Everett Silvertips players EV Landshut players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Sportspeople from Saskatoon Kootenay Ice players Reading Royals players SaiPa players San Jose Sharks players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) players Worcester Sharks players Ice hockey people from Alberta Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States