Eric Weinrich

Eric Weinrich
Born December 19, 1966 (1966-12-19) (age 45)
Roanoke, VA, USA
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Hartford Whalers
Chicago Blackhawks
Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
Philadelphia Flyers
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
National team  United States
NHL Draft 32nd overall, 1985
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1988–2008

Eric John Weinrich[1] (born December 19, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. He is currently an assistant coach with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Contents

Playing career

Weinrich was originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft although the pick was deemed invalid as he had yet to clear the minimum age restriction for eligible draftees. Weinrich entered the draft the next year and was drafted 32nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.[2] He played 1,157 career NHL games, scoring 70 goals and 318 assists for 388 points. He grew up in the small town of Gardiner, Maine, went to high school at North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, Maine, and played his college hockey at the University of Maine, where he studied archeology and anthropology.[2]

Weinrich played 83 games over three seasons at the University of Maine, and was named an NCAA East Second Team All-American for the 1986–87 season.[1] He would leave the team the next season to play for the United States national team.

Weinrich joined the Utica Devils, the AHL developmental affiliate team of his draft team, the New Jersey Devils for the 1988–89 and 1989–90 AHL seasons, winning the Eddie Shore Award in 1990.[1] He would also play 21 games for the NHL Devils during those years, scoring nine points. He joined New Jersey full-time for the 1990–91 NHL season, having his best offensive year with 38 points and earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team, but would be traded with Sean Burke to the Hartford Whalers for Bobby Holik and draft choices on 28 August 1992.[3]

After spending just over a season with the Whalers, Weinrich was traded with Patrick Poulin to the Chicago Blackhawks for Steve Larmer and Bryan Marchment.[4] He would play for the Blackhawks for several seasons before being traded once again shortly into the 1998–99 NHL season, this time to the Montreal Canadiens.[5] Weinrich again would not last long with his new team, being traded yet again to the Boston Bruins for Patrick Traverse midway through the 2000–01 NHL season in what is believed to have been the first trade between the two teams since 1964.[6]

Weinrich signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent on July 5, 2001 and played his 1000th game with them during the 2002–03 NHL season.[1] However, this was not enough to prevent him from being traded once again, this time to the St. Louis Blues, shortly after the 2004 NHL All-Star game. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played with VSV EC of the Austrian Hockey League, but returned to the Blues for the 2005–06 NHL season, during which he was traded for the final time, his last NHL team being the Vancouver Canucks.

Weinrich announced his retirement on August 7, 2006 after 17 seasons in the NHL.[1] With his retirement, he became an assistant coach for the Portland Pirates in the AHL, then on January 25, 2007 he signed a professional tryout contract with the team and began play immediately. Weinrich skated with the Pirates for two seasons before hanging up the skates for good after the 2007-08 season.[2]

Awards and honors[1]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 North Yarmouth Academy HS-ME 17 23 33 56
1984–85 North Yarmouth Academy HS-ME 20 6 21 27
1985–86 Maine Black Bears HE 34 0 14 14 26
1986–87 Maine Black Bears HE 41 12 32 44 59
1987–88 Maine Black Bears HE 8 4 7 11 22
1987–88 United States Nat-Tm 38 3 9 12 24
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 2 0 0 0 0
1988–89 Utica Devils AHL 80 17 27 44 70 5 0 1 1 4
1989–90 Utica Devils AHL 57 12 48 60 38
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 2 7 9 11 6 1 3 4 17
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 4 34 38 48 7 1 2 3 6
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 7 25 32 55 7 0 2 2 4
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 79 7 29 36 76
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 8 1 1 2 2
1993–94 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 54 3 23 26 31 6 0 2 2 6
1994–95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 48 3 10 13 33 16 1 5 6 4
1995–96 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 77 5 10 15 65 10 1 4 5 10
1996–97 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 7 25 32 62 6 0 1 1 4
1997–98 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 82 2 21 23 106
1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 14 1 3 4 12
1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 6 12 18 77
1999–00 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 4 25 29 39
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 6 19 25 34
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 22 1 5 6 10
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 4 20 24 26 5 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 81 2 18 20 40 13 2 3 5 12
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 54 2 7 9 32
2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL 26 2 8 10 14 5 0 1 1 0
2004–05 EC VSV EBHL 10 3 8 11 8 3 0 1 1 6
2005–06 St. Louis Blues NHL 59 1 16 17 44
2005–06 Vancouver Canucks NHL 16 0 0 0 8
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 36 2 12 14 34
2007–08 Portland Pirates AHL 52 1 7 8 68
NHL totals 1157 70 318 388 825 81 6 23 29 67
AHL totals 225 32 94 126 210 5 0 1 1 4
HE totals 83 16 53 69 107

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1985 United States WJC 7 1 1 2 8
1986 United States WJC 7 1 0 1 4
1988 United States OG 3 0 0 0 0
1990 United States WEC 10 2 1 3 6
1991 United States CC 8 0 0 0 2
1993 United States WC 6 0 1 1 0
1997 United States WC 6 0 4 4 2
1998 United States WC 6 0 2 2 16
1999 United States WC 6 1 2 3 2
2000 United States WC 7 0 2 2 4
2001 United States WC 9 0 2 2 8
2002 United States WC 3 0 1 1 2
2004 United States WC 4 0 0 0 8
2004 United States WCH 2 0 0 0 0
Junior int'l totals 17 2 1 3 12
Senior int'l totals 67 3 15 18 50

References

External links