The next challenge for this former Barrie Colts captain? The approach to triathlons

When it became apparent that Bryan Little’s NHL career was over, he decided to turn his athletic endeavors to triathlon.

Little, who was born in Edmonton, grew up in Cambridge and lives in Puslinch on a two-acre property near Lake Puslinch, thought he might get a little more serious about triathlon.

“When we moved to the country, I got a road bike and started to get into road cycling, mostly for recovery because I was still playing hockey,” he said. “So I would go a little bit on the weekend.

“I learned about triathlons through YouTube. Canadian Lionel Sanders had a popular video channel on YouTube and I thought it looked really cool and it looked kind of crazy and I thought it would be a great thing to try. I actually did my first sprint triathlon in Guelph when I was still playing hockey. I didn’t train for this at all. I was leaving my hockey practice and hoping for better and having a great time. I was kind of hooked, so I decided that when I was done playing, I’d get into it a little bit more and train hard for it.”

Little’s professional hockey days ended in the 2019–2020 season when he was hit in the ear by a shot that lasted seven games after returning from a concussion suffered in a preseason game. Although there were times when he felt he could return to playing, he was advised not to.

“One of the things that was the hardest was just feeling good,” he said. “It was just the unpredictable nature of what happens if I get hit really bad again. That was kind of the thing that kept me from playing again, and believe me I’ve seen a lot – I’ve seen three or four specialists and none of them have recommended that I play contact sports again. It’s been hard, but days like today when I find something else to be passionate about definitely help.”

Despite the early end of his professional hockey career, he looks back on that career fondly.

“I got to live my dream,” Little said. “It was my dream to play in the NHL as a kid and it’s all I ever wanted, and I ended up playing 12 seasons and having a decent career and putting up some points and goals. Looking back, the only hard pill to swallow is that I never got the chance to play for the Cup. I’ve only been to the playoffs three times and it definitely hurts to look back and see those missed opportunities and you know you get kind of, not jealous but kind of envious of the guys who won it. It’s still hard to look back and know you’ll never get the chance to pick it up.”

Little came to Barrie in 2003 and had four stellar seasons with the Colts. In 247 regular season games, he had 120 goals and 189 assists for 342 points, as well as 22 goals and 26 assists in 38 playoff games to solidify him as one of the Colts’ best from the history of the franchise.

A center, Little played 843 NHL games, scoring 217 goals and assisting on another 304, all for the same franchise. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers 12th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and remained with the team when it moved north to become the Winnipeg Jets. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2022 and will officially retire as a member of the Utah Hockey Club when his contract expires next month.

“After my contract was moved there, I’ve never been there,” the 37-year-old said of Arizona.

“It’s more of a technique thing in their books. My heart was still in Winnipeg and I was still following these guys because I still knew a lot of the guys on the team. It’s July when I’m officially retired, so I’d better be done with it.”

As for triathlons, he actually started when he was still playing in the NHL.

“It’s humbling for sure, especially the swimming,” he said. “It was such a short 750m swim and I had to take a few breaks and I was passed by a ton of people. As explosive as I felt and as good a shape as I felt, it was definitely humbling when you go out there and see people a lot older than you flying next to you, so it’s definitely a different sport .”

Little, who trains with the Guelph-based LPC triathlon group when he can, likes that there are three different disciplines in the sport.

“It was really different from the training I did for hockey,” he said. “I spent a lot of time in the gym, a lot of weights, a lot of short burst stuff. I always wanted to get into the endurance stuff because it was so different from what I was doing before. I wanted to get out of the gym because when I finished playing, I kind of finished being in the weight room a lot. I love how it’s so different and the training is so different. It’s almost a kind of meditation when you’re there by yourself.”

Of the three disciplines – swimming, cycling and running – which does Little like best?

“I’d say bicycle,” he replied. “I’d say it’s probably my strongest as well, but I’ve grown to like all three. I’ve always loved running and swimming, I had a love/hate relationship when I started, but I love it now as I’ve gotten better.”

Little started his season with a fourth-place finish at the Milton Subaru Triathlon earlier this month. He was the top amateur.

He was also the top amateur, second overall, at last year’s Guelph Lake II Triathlon over Labor Day weekend, finishing behind Guelph professional triathlete Taylor Reid.

“I don’t really have any goals in that I want to come to this place or this place,” Little said. “I just want to see how well I can push myself. I like trying to improve on something I’m not very good at, so I’m going to keep doing it and try to improve as much as I can and see where it goes.”

Because of a promise he made to his wife, Little keeps his triathlon training part-time.

“I’m pretty much a stay-at-home dad now. I told my wife when I was done (with professional hockey) that I would. This is kind of secondary. It’s a hobby,” he said.

As for the triathlons he competes in, Little has pretty much kept to sprint triathlons.

“I’ve never done an Olympic (distance triathlon),” he said. “I have to look at how close, if I were to do it, how close it would be to the 70.3 I’m doing. I just don’t know how sore I would be after the Olympics. I think I’m more sore than the average person after these races, especially the run. Even in the sprints it hurts a little bit for a few days, so we’ll see how close it is.”

While some triathletes compete almost every weekend, Little limits his competitions to an average of about one a month. While he hasn’t decided if he’ll return to compete in the Guelph Lake II Triathlon later this summer, his main event of the year will be next month’s Ironman 70.3 Musselman in Geneva, NY

“Usually four or five (a season), depending on how I feel,” he said. “In the last two years we have done four. It just depends on how I feel. I usually get niggles and stuff. I’m pretty prone to running injuries and something has been creeping in since I was playing with my knees and shoulders and stuff. I think at least four, I hope.”