Éric Meloche

Éric Meloche
Born (1976-05-01) May 1, 1976 (age 48)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
Straubing Tigers (DEL)
NHL draft 186th overall, 1996
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2000–2013

Éric Meloche (born May 1, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the son of former player Gilles Meloche.

Playing career

Meloche began his career by playing junior hockey with the Cornwall Colts of the OCJHL. After playing there for two seasons, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round, 186th overall, of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

From there he played collegiate hockey with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CCHA. After graduating in 2000, he played his first full season of professional hockey for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Until 2004 he would split his seasons between the two teams, but the Penguins decided to let him become an unrestricted free agent once his contract ran out.

On July 14, 2004, he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, who assigned him to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL, where he spent the whole season due to the lockout. Despite being a part of the Calder Cup winning team, Meloche was never called up to the NHL until he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Patrick Sharp for Matt Ellison and a draft pick on December 5, 2005. He was immediately assigned to the Norfolk Admirals and finished the season there.

On August 2, 2006, the Philadelphia Flyers traded European prospect Václav Pletka to the Chicago Blackhawks in order to regain the winger. After the 2006–07 season, Meloche signed with the Straubing Tigers of the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) where he spent the next four seasons.

Awards

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95 Cornwall Colts OCJHL 40 7 15 22 51 — — — — —
1995–96 Cornwall Colts OCJHL 64 68 53 121 162 — — — — —
1996–97 Ohio State Buckeyes CCHA 39 12 11 23 78 — — — — —
1997–98 Ohio State Buckeyes CCHA 42 26 22 48 86 — — — — —
1998–99 Ohio State Buckeyes CCHA 35 11 16 27 87 — — — — —
1999–00 Ohio State Buckeyes CCHA 35 20 11 31 136 — — — — —
2000–01 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 79 20 20 40 72 21 6 10 16 17
2001–02 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 55 13 14 27 91 — — — — —
2001–02 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 23 0 1 1 8 — — — — —
2002–03 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 59 12 17 29 95 6 1 0 1 20
2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 13 5 1 6 4 — — — — —
2003–04 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 56 16 26 42 49 23 9 6 15 1
2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 25 3 7 10 20 — — — — —
2004–05 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 63 6 11 17 102 17 3 2 5 18
2005–06 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 10 1 2 3 16 — — — — —
2005–06 Norfolk Admirals AHL 47 7 14 21 81 4 0 0 0 11
2006–07 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 49 11 13 24 82 — — — — —
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 13 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2007–08 Straubing Tigers DEL 54 17 23 40 125 — — — — —
2008–09 Straubing Tigers DEL 49 13 20 33 148 — — — — —
2009–10 Straubing Tigers DEL 51 22 16 38 95 — — — — —
2010–11 Straubing Tigers DEL 49 7 14 21 124 — — — — —
2011–12 Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena LNAH 24 8 12 20 24 — — — — —
2011–12 Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5 LNAH 20 7 14 21 22 — — — — —
AHL totals 418 86 117 203 588 71 19 18 37 80
DEL totals 203 59 73 132 492 — — — — —
NHL totals 74 9 11 20 36 — — — — —