Former First Round Pick Retires at Age 34

He was the first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft at 26th overall. But after three 20-goal seasons in his first four full years in Buffalo, things deteriorated after a series of injuries for center Tyler Ennis.

After several seasons of bouncing around from Buffalo to the Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers and back to Ottawa, Ennis left North America to play the past two seasons overseas in Switzerland and Germany. Now at the age of 34, he’s officially called an end to his hockey career.

He posted this announcement:

After working hard to get healthy with our great team, I ultimately decided to quit hockey. I would like to thank [Mannheim general manager Daniel] Hopp, my teammates, the coaches, our medical staff and of course our great fans for their support. I will continue to cheer on the Adler Mannheim vigorously in the future.

From Medicine Hat to Mannheim and five NHL cities along the way – best of luck to Tyler Ennis who has hung up his skates!

A first-round 2008 #NHLDraft pick of the @BuffaloSabres, Ennis recorded 144 goals and 346 points over 700 regular-season NHL games. pic.twitter.com/6ycaCj1UE1
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) January 17, 2024

He only played seven games with the Adler Mannheim Eagles in Germany this season, recording five assists before suffering a neck injury back in November. Last year with Bern SC in the Swiss-A League he recorded 13 goals and 33 points in 37 games.

Ennis played exactly 700 NHL games in his 13-year career, notching 144 goals, 202 assists and 346 points while playing an average of 15 minutes a night.

The Edmonton-born player also helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships.

At 5'9", 160 pounds, Ennis would always be facing an uphill battle in the NHL.

Tyler Ennis retired from hockey today, so here’s an old photo of him and Zdeno Chara 😅 pic.twitter.com/DNedInnvMN
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 17, 2024