THN Archive: It's Not The Size Of The Dog

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 It's Not The Size Of The Dog – Jan 28, 2019 - Vol. 72, Issue. 08 - David Boclair

IT IS SAID THAT you can tell a lot about a man by his dog. That is not the case with Ryan Ellis. At least not when it comes to his hockey career.

The 27-year-old Nashville Predators defenseman and his wife, Kaitlyn, have a two-year-old Rottweiler, a breed known for its brutish size, which, according to the American Kennel Club, “observes the outside world with a self-assured aloofness.”

Ellis’ self-confidence always has been evident, but in his case that belief manifested itself more in the manner of a Jack Russell Terrier. He never considered the possibility he was – in terms of traditional metrics – too small to measure up on the sport’s biggest stage no matter how many people tried to tell him otherwise. And he certainly is not aloof when it comes to his place in the dressing room. Instead, he is a central figure whose leadership qualities were as impossible to ignore as the absurd numbers he put up during his junior days with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.

HE’S PROVED HIMSELF AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. HE’S ONE OF THE TOP DEFENSEMEN IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

– Predators GM David Poile on Ellis

Now in his eighth NHL season, he is still too small in terms of height and weight. The simple truth is he always will be.

What has changed is he has a contract that measures up to those of some of the biggest stars, biggest producers and – yes – biggest bodies in the game. The eight-year, $50-million extension Ellis signed shortly before training camp goes into effect next season and runs through the end of 2026-27, when he will be 36.

No longer does he have to nip at any proverbial ankles in order to get recognized. He finally has the financial clout that gives him a bite equal to whatever barking he has done in recent years. “There’s only a certain amount of time to make your money, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a 15-year career,” Ellis said. “A typical career in hockey is three years, and you have to take full advantage of making that money for your family going forward. People can call you selfish and this and that, but at the end of the day, if you retire at 35, you have a lot of years left to look after your family and your kids and your kids’ kids.”

And here’s the thing: Ellis actually could have gotten even more money had he played this season and become a UFA on July 1.

As a primary member of Nashville’s leadership group (he has been associate captain since the start of 2017-18) and a homegrown product, Ellis proudly noted he elected to take a little less in order to help keep together the majority of a roster that played in the 2017 Stanley Cup final and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2018. “It starts with the city,” he said. “The fans, the organization, the lifestyle here, it suits hockey players. You see a lot of hockey players that are quiet, humble and just want to fit in. That’s a lot of our team, and Nashville is the perfect place to do that.”

For the record, Ellis is listed at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. That means he is the shortest of Nashville’s defenseman and the slightest by 20 pounds. Still, he cuts a sizable figure on and off the ice. He plays on the top pairing with team captain Roman Josi and has a chance this season to join Josi and Shea Weber as the only Nashville players ever to average more than 25 minutes of ice time per game for an entire season. Through 25 games, he was at 24:53.

To that point, Ellis’ ice time has been steadily increasing since he joined the Predators midway through 2011-12. After playing 14:50 per game as a rookie, then 16:23 in 2012-13 and 16:04 in 2013-14, Ellis jumped up to nearly 19 minutes in 2014-15, and then up to nearly 21 minutes in 2015-16. And the more he plays, the more valuable he becomes to the team. Ellis had a career-high average ice time of 23:57 in 2016-17, which dropped slightly to 23:21 last season as he recovered from injury.

“I’m sure Ryan’s size has come up once or twice as he’s moved up the ladder,” said Nashville GM David Poile. “Now he’s a player that plays big minutes every night in every situation. So there’s nothing he can’t do. Honestly, it was probably a process to always have to prove himself at every level. And he’s proved himself at the highest level. On the biggest stage. He is one of the top defensemen in the National Hockey League.”

Since the start of 2015-16, Ellis ranks 35th among NHL blueliners with 114 points but has played fewer games than any of the top 34. Most notably, off-season knee surgery kept him sidelined until almost halfway through last season. His plus-64 rating over that span is second among all defensemen.

And in the 44 games he did play in 2017-18, Ellis was a plus-26, one shy of the franchise record. Nashville went 30-8-6 after his return, all of which enhanced his reputation, particularly within his own team. “I don’t think it really kicks in until you have a meeting or you have a big game coming up and people are looking at you to say something or do something,” Ellis said.

Actually, they’re looking up to him.