Ryan Flinn (born April 20, 1980) 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

former 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 ...

winger who played with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in 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).

Playing career

Flinn was known as an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

. He was drafted in the fifth round, 143rd overall by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, Mi ...

. Selected from the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

Flinn accumulated over 200

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

in each of his four full seasons with the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Ga ...

Halifax Mooseheads The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the 1 ...

and the

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles The Cape Breton Eagles are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Their home rink is Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. History The franchise was originally granted to the Sorel Éperviers (B ...

. Unsigned by the Devils, Flinn began his professional career in the

East Coast Hockey League 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 ...

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 ...

. Leading the ECHL in penalty minutes, Flinn was signed to a try-out contract with the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

of the AHL, before signing with NHL affiliate, the

midway through the 2001–02 season and appearing in 10 NHL games. Flinn spent 2002–03 split between the Monarchs and the Kings, scoring his first NHL goal with the Kings. After missing the majority of the 2004–05 season with the Monarchs due to a foot and leg injury, Flinn returned the following year, only to be lost to a serious concussion suffered against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

on November 26, 2005. After two consecutive injury-riddled seasons Flinn was released by the Kings. Unable to attract other NHL interest, he was signed by the AHL's

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

for the 2006–07 season. The

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

signed Flinn to a one-year contract on July 17, 2007. He was then assigned to 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 Ar ...

, playing in 24 games before he was loaned to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

for the remainder of the year. Flinn signed a one-year contract with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on July 7, 2008. He was assigned to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 OHL season, 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Cent ...

, for the year. In the 2009–10 season, Flinn played two games for the

Rockford Icehogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

, tallying nine penalty minutes; he was then released but later signed a Professional Try-Out agreement with the IceHogs on November 17, 2009.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flinn, Ryan 1980 births Acadie–Bathurst Titan players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cape Breton Screaming Eagles players Halifax Mooseheads players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Laval Titan Collège Français players Living people Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players New Jersey Devils draft picks Reading Royals players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players San Antonio Rampage players Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Springfield Falcons players