Éric Joseph Fichaud (born November 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. He played 95 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with four teams between 1996 and 2000. He was selected in the first round of the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...

, 16th overall, by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Junior career

Fichaud played net for the

Chicoutimi Saguenéens The Chicoutimi Saguenéens are a junior ice hockey team which plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team is based out of Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada (now a part of the city of Saguenay) and owned by the City of Saguenay. Th ...

in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, he led his team to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

, winning a host of awards, including the

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy The Hap Emms Memorial Trophy is awarded to the outstanding goaltender at the Memorial Cup of the Canadian Hockey League. The award is named after Leighton "Hap" Emms, a former NHL player, who had a 33 year presence in the Ontario Hockey Associ ...

as top goaltender and playoff MVP awards. A classic butterfly goaltender in the

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

mold, Fichaud looked to be a future

starting netminder.

Professional career

Shortly after being drafted, Fichaud was traded to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

for

Benoît Hogue Benoît "Benny" Hogue (born October 28, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, 35th overall, in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career After playing three seas ...

, a 1995 3rd round pick (Ryan Pepperall) and a 1996 5th round pick (

Brandon Sugden Brandon Sugden (born June 23, 1978) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger. He was selected by Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round (111th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Nicknamed "Sugar" ...

), without ever playing a game for Toronto. Fichaud never lived up to the lofty expectations his fantastic junior career had led to, bouncing between the minor leagues and the NHL. Shoulder injuries played a key role, and despite Fichaud's best efforts, he was unable to recapture his previous form. Eventually, Fichaud settled into the role as the starting goalie for the AHL's

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 OHL season, 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Cent ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

* 1975 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Carolina Hurricanes players Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Montreal Krefeld Pinguine players Manitoba Moose players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders players People from Anjou, Quebec Quebec Citadelles players Quebec RadioX players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players Worcester IceCats players {{Canada-icehockey-goaltender-stub