Riley Barber

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Riley Barber
2025-09-14 Dresdner Eislowen gegen ERC Ingolstadt (Deutsche Eishockey-Liga 2025-26) by Sandro Halank-018.jpg
Barber with the ERC Ingolstadt in 2025
Born (1994-02-07) February 7, 1994 (age 31)
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
DEL team
Former teams
ERC Ingolstadt
Washington Capitals
Montreal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings
Barys Astana
Ak Bars Kazan
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
National teamFlag of the United States.svg  United States
NHL draft 167th overall, 2012
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2015present

Riley Barber (born February 7, 1994) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing under contract with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). 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]

Contents

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]

After a season with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, Barber left the KHL after two years and opted to sign a one-year deal with German club, ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL, on June 4, 2025. [21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2010–11 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 5714142848112026
2011–12 U.S. National Development Team USHL24561159
2012–13 Miami RedHawks CCHA 4015243922
2013–14 Miami RedHawks NCHC 3819254428
2014–15 Miami RedHawksNCHC3820204012
2015–16 Hershey Bears AHL 74262955341713424
2016–17 Hershey BearsAHL3913142712121454
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 30000
2017–18 Hershey BearsAHL6020183849
2018–19 Hershey BearsAHL643129608493364
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL3913183119
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL90002
2019–20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL73366
2020–21 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL3220143422
2021–22 Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL4928255324
2021–22 Detroit Red Wings NHL40002
2022–23 Texas Stars AHL6932326443823510
2023–24 Barys Astana KHL 281013234
2023–24 Ak Bars Kazan KHL285611210000
2024–25 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL4516143018
NHL totals160004
KHL totals1013133642410000

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2012 United States U18 7th61232
2013 United States WJC Gold medal icon.svg73364
2014 United StatesWJC5th54260
2022 United States WC 4th91012
Junior totals1887156
Senior totals91012

Awards and honors

AwardYear
College
All-CCHA Rookie Team 2012–13
All-CCHA First Team 2012–13 [22]
All-NCHC Second Team 2013–14 [23]

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. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. 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. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. 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. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. 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. "Barber signs with ERC" (in German). ERC Ingolstadt. June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  22. "Conference Honors, 2012–13". CollegeHockeyInc.com. April 1, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  23. "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