Lyle Odelein

Lyle Odelein
Born July 21, 1968 (1968-07-21) (age 43)
Quill Lake, SK, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
NHL team
Former teams
Free Agent
Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils
Phoenix Coyotes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars
Florida Panthers
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 141st overall, 1986
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1989–2006

Lyle Odelein (born July 21, 1968) is a professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a free agent. He has played for the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Contents

Playing career

Odelein played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 7th round (141st overall) in 1986.

His playing style adapted through his career; primarily used as a defensive defenceman early in his career (as well as an enforcer), but became more of a two-way threat when former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers used him on the power play.

His first NHL goal was a highlight-reel end-to-end rush against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour on December 19, 1991.

Odelein won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

The 1993–94 NHL season marked Odelein's career highlight. He scored 11 goals, 29 assists and 40 points, all career highs. As well, he scored a hat trick against St. Louis Blues goalie Jim Hrivnak on March 9, 1994. His 5 assists on February 20, 1994, against the Hartford Whalers, tied a single-game record for Canadiens defensemen held by Doug Harvey.

Prior to the 1996–97 season, Odelein was traded by the Canadiens to the New Jersey Devils for Stéphane Richer on August 22, 1996. In the 1999–2000 season, his fourth with the Devils, Odelein was traded by the Devils to the Phoenix Coyotes for Deron Quint and a 3rd round selection on March 7, 2000.

Odelein's tenure with the Coyotes was short as he was claimed in the expansion draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 23, 2000. Lyle was later named the first captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets before their inaugural season in 2000–01.

Odelein signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 2, 2005. However, he managed just 27 games before injuring his knee, gaining just a single assist. He has not played professional hockey since undergoing knee surgery in February 2006, but has not announced his retirement to date and is considered a free agent.

His 2316 career penalty minutes as of March 2006 place him 28th all-time.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 67 9 37 46 117 13 1 6 7 34
1986–87 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 59 9 50 59 70 9 2 5 7 26
1987–88 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL 63 15 43 58 166
1988–89 Peoria Rivermen IHL 36 2 8 10 116
1988–89 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 33 3 4 7 120 3 0 2 2 5
1989–90 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 68 7 24 31 265 12 6 5 11 79
1989–90 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8 0 2 2 33
1990–91 Montreal Canadiens NHL 52 0 2 2 259 12 0 0 0 54
1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 71 1 7 8 212 7 0 0 0 11
1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 83 2 14 16 205 20 1 5 6 30
1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 79 11 29 40 276 7 0 0 0 17
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 3 7 10 152
1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 79 3 14 17 230 6 1 1 2 6
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 3 13 16 110 10 2 2 4 19
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 4 19 23 171 6 1 1 2 21
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 5 26 31 114 7 0 3 3 10
1999–00 New Jersey Devils NHL 57 1 15 16 104
1999–00 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 16 1 7 8 19 5 0 0 0 16
2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 81 3 14 17 118
2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 65 2 14 16 89
2001–02 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 12 0 2 2 4 4 0 1 1 25
2002–03 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 65 7 4 11 76
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 3 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Florida Panthers NHL 82 4 12 16 88
2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 27 0 1 1 50
NHL totals 1056 50 202 252 2316 86 5 13 18 209

Personal

His brother Selmar Odelein lives in Saskatchewan also and played briefly for the Edmonton Oilers before playing for Team Canada and moving to Europe. Another brother, Lee Odelein, has also played professionally in Europe.

See also

External links

Preceded by
Position created
Columbus Blue Jackets captain
200002
Succeeded by
Ray Whitney