(Windsor) Earlier tonight, the Nashville Predators selected Spitfire defenceman Ryan Ellis with their first round selection, 11th overall at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal. This past season, the Freelton, Ontario native enjoyed success matched by few in their junior hockey careers. He finished the regular season as the OHL’s leading scorer amongst defencemen and second on the Spitfires with 22 goals and a league high 67 assists for 89 points. His 89 points were also seventh amongst all OHL scorers and he posted the second best plus/minus rating in the league with a +52
Ellis was also selected to play for Team OHL at the 2008 ADT Canada/Russia Challenge in November and then represented Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships in January, winning a Gold Medal as Canada defeated Sweden 5-1 in the final. He scored one goal and recorded six assists for seven points in six games played during the tournament and was the youngest defenceman to participate in the WJHC since Jay Bouwmeester in 2001.
Two months later, he represented the Windsor Spitfires and Team West at the 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic in February hosted in Windsor. His amazing season prompted the OHL to name him the Max Kaminsky Trophy Winner as the league’s Most Outstanding Defenceman.
In the playoffs, Ellis was a key part of the Spitfires OHL Championship squad, as Windsor defeated the Brampton Battalion four games to one. He finished tied for third overall in the OHL and first amongst all defencemen in playoff scoring with 8 goals and 23 assists for 31 points in 20 games. He finished the season by helping the Spitfires make history in becoming the first team to come back from losing their first two games to win the 2009 MasterCard Memorial Cup, as Windsor won four straight games, including a 4-1 win over the Kelowna Rockets in the Championship Final. Ellis was named to the Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star team as he scored three goals and added one assist for four points in six games.
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