Riley Barber

Riley Barber
Riley Barber.jpg
Barber with the Hershey Bears in 2019
Born (1994-02-07) February 7, 1994 (age 30)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
team
Former teams		 Free agent
Washington Capitals
Montreal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings
Barys Astana
Ak Bars Kazan
National team  United States
NHL draft 167th overall, 2012
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2015–present

Riley Barber (born February 7, 1994) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey forward who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played under contract with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Barber was selected by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of former NHL player Don Barber.[1]

Playing career

As a youth, Barber played in the 2006 and 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Pittsburgh Hornets, and then the Detroit Red Wings minor ice hockey teams.[2]

Barber played college hockey for the Miami RedHawks of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In his freshman year, Barber's outstanding play was rewarded with a selection to the 2012–13 Central Collegiate Hockey Association All-Conference First Team.[3] In 40 games, he tallied 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points[4] and was second in team scoring by then-sophomore Austin Czarnik. On December 22, 2013, during his sophomore season at Miami, Barber was named captain of the United States men's national junior ice hockey team for the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[5] He had been a member of the 2013 United States squad that won gold.

On April 17, 2015, Barber chose to forego his senior year with Miami and signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Capitals. He was assigned to the Capitals' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.[6] He made his professional debut on October 10, 2015, registering two goals in a 5–1 win over the Springfield Falcons.[7]

During the 2016–17 season, on February 24, 2017, Barber made his NHL debut with the Capitals against the Edmonton Oilers.[8]

On December 7, 2018, the Capitals recalled Barber from Hershey after placing T. J. Oshie on injured reserve, though he did not play.[9] He led the Bears with 18 points in 20 appearances for the season before being recalled.[10]

On July 1, 2019, Barber joined the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract.[11] After participating in the Canadiens training camp, Barber was waived on September 24, 2019. He was reassigned to the Canadiens minor league affiliate, Laval Rocket, to begin the 2019–20 season.[12]

After leading the Rocket in points with 18 (6G, 12A) points in 21 games. The Canadiens decided to recall Barber to the NHL on December 8, 2019. This was his first NHL call-up since playing three NHL games with the Washington Capitals in the 2016–17 season.[13] After playing eight games and registering zero points with the Montreal Canadiens, Barber was sent back to Laval.[14] On February 20, 2020, while with Laval, Barber was traded by the Canadiens along with Phil Varone to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchini. He was immediately assigned to join their affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[15]

On October 9, 2020, Barber signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[16] On January 12, 2021, the Red Wings assigned Barber to the Grand Rapids Griffins.[17]

On July 14, 2022, Barber signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Dallas Stars.[18]

Following the conclusion of his contract within the Stars organization, Barber opted to sign his first contract abroad, leaving North America in agreeing to a one-year contract with Kazakh based KHL club, Barys Astana, on August 3, 2023.[19] During the 2023–24 season, on November 24, 2023, having posted 10 goals and 23 points through 28 games with Barys, Barber was traded to Russian club Ak Bars Kazan in exchange for Belarusian Kristian Khenkel.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 57 14 14 28 48 11 2 0 2 6
2011–12 U.S. National Development Team USHL 24 5 6 11 59 — — — — —
2012–13 Miami RedHawks CCHA 40 15 24 39 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Miami RedHawks NCHC 38 19 25 44 28 — — — — —
2014–15 Miami RedHawks NCHC 38 20 20 40 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Hershey Bears AHL 74 26 29 55 34 17 1 3 4 24
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 39 13 14 27 12 12 1 4 5 4
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Hershey Bears AHL 60 20 18 38 49 — — — — —
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 64 31 29 60 84 9 3 3 6 4
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 39 13 18 31 19 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 7 3 3 6 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 32 20 14 34 22 — — — — —
2021–22 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 49 28 25 53 24 — — — — —
2021–22 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2022–23 Texas Stars AHL 69 32 32 64 43 8 2 3 5 10
2023–24 Barys Astana KHL 28 10 13 23 4 — — — — —
2023–24 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 28 5 6 11 2 1 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 16 0 0 0 4 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2012 United States U18 7th 6 1 2 3 2
2013 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 3 3 6 4
2014 United States WJC 5th 5 4 2 6 0
2022 United States WC 4th 9 1 0 1 2
Junior totals 18 8 7 15 6
Senior totals 9 1 0 1 2

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-CCHA Rookie Team 2012–13
All-CCHA First Team 2012–13 [21]
All-NCHC Second Team 2013–14 [22]

References

  1. ^ Janes, Chelsea (July 13, 2013). "Washington Capitals prospect Riley Barber builds on hockey and skating pedigree". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  2. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "CCHA All-Conference teams". Central Collegiate Hockey Association. March 28, 2013. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  4. ^ "Predicting the next 5 Capitals prospects to arrive in the NHL". bleacherreport.com. August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  5. ^ "Miami's Barber named U.S. World Junior Captain". USCHO.com. December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  6. ^ "Barber Signs Entry-Level Deal with Capitals". Miami RedHawks. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  7. ^ Stuccio, Scott (October 10, 2015). "Hershey Bears get two goals from rookie Riley Barber in season opening win over Springfield". The Patriot-News. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Vogel, Mike (February 25, 2017). "Caps Edge Edmonton, 2-1". NHL.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Brown, Harrison (December 8, 2018). "Washington at Columbus Preview: Capitals Conclude Road Trip In Columbus With First Place In The Division At Stake on Saturday Night". NoVa Caps. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  10. ^ "Capitals' Riley Barber: Promoted to top level". CBSSports.com. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "One-year, two-way contract for Right Winger Riley Barber". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Zadarnowski, Andrew (September 24, 2019). "Riley Barber placed on waivers by Montreal Canadiens". Eyes On The Prize. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  13. ^ Cowan, Stu (December 9, 2019). "Canadiens call up forward Riley Barber from Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  14. ^ "Canadiens' Riley Barber: Shifted to minors". CBSSports.com. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  15. ^ "Pens acquire Barber, Varone from Montreal for Blandisi and Lucchini". Pittsburgh Penguins. February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Red Wings add Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo and Kevin Boyle". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "Detroit Assigns 11 to Grand Rapids". griffinshockey.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Stars sign forward Riley Barber to one-year contract". Dallas Stars. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "KHL transfers tracker 2023" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  20. ^ "Лучший бомбардир "Барыса" Барбер перешел в "Ак Барс" в результате обмена". matchtv (in Russian). November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  21. ^ "Conference Honors, 2012–13". CollegeHockeyInc.com. April 1, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  22. ^ "NCHC announces All-Conference All-Rookie Team". USCHO.com. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by CCHA Rookie of the Year
2012–13 		Succeeded by
Award discontinued