The average pro hockey career, according to HockeyAnswered.com, is just 4.5 years in length, so when a player can take his career beyond that stretch, they're considered extremely lucky. For the NHLers who can go 10 seasons or more, that's quite an accomplishment, but as they say, all good things must come to an end eventually.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf and 13-season NHL veteran Tyler Ennis has officially called it a career after 15 years of professional hockey on Wednesday, as confirmed by his DEL team, Adler Mannheim.
Ennis played 51 games as a member of the Maple Leafs back in 2018-19, notching 12 goals and 6 assists for a total of 18 points playing mostly in a depth role for the Buds. However, the majority of his NHL career was played in Buffalo, after the Sabres drafted the Edmonton, Alberta native with the 26th overall pick in the 1st round back in 2008.
Ennis reached the 700-game plateau in the 2021-22 season as a member of the Ottawa Senators, having accumulated 144 career NHL goals and 346 career NHL points before departing for Europe in the fall of 2022. He would go on to play 37 games with SC Bern in the Swiss-A League before joining the Mannheim Eagles this past fall.
Unfortunately for Ennis, injuries have caught up to him and he'll end his season in Mannheim with just 7 games played, having registered 5 assists for the Eagles. While his career didn't end on his own terms, with injuries forcing him out, Ennis was able to live out his dream of playing in the NHL, despite his 5'9, 160-pound frame. What an impressive career he has had, all things considered.
