Éric Meloche (born May 1, 1976) 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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played 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 ...

(NHL) for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. He is the son of former player

Gilles Meloche Gilles Emile Meloche (born July 12, 1950) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, scout and former player. Meloche played as a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Ba ...

Playing career

Meloche began his career by playing junior hockey with the

Cornwall Colts The Cornwall Colts are a Canadian junior ice hockey team from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. Before 1992, they were known as the Massena Americans, and moved to Cornwall in 1992 when the Cornwall ...

of the OCJHL. After playing there for two seasons, he was selected by the

in the seventh round, 186th overall, of the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

. From there he played collegiate hockey with the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

in the CCHA. After graduating in 2000, he played his first full season of professional hockey for the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

, the AHL affiliate of the

. Until

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

he would split his seasons between the two teams, but the Penguins decided to let him become an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

once his contract ran out. On July 14, 2004, he signed with the

, who assigned him to the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum (arena), Spectrum ...

of the AHL, where he spent the whole season due to the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

. Despite being a part of the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

winning team, Meloche was never called up to the

NHL 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 ...

until he was traded to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

along with

Patrick Sharp Patrick Sharp (born December 27, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars. After his retirement as a pla ...

for

Matt Ellison Matt Ellison (born December 8, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Drafted in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), Ellison played for the Blackhawks minor teams with two ...

and a draft pick on December 5, 2005. He was immediately assigned to the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

and finished the season there. On August 2, 2006, the

traded European prospect Václav Pletka to the

in order to regain the winger. After the 2006–07 season, Meloche signed with the

Straubing Tigers The Straubing Tigers are a professional men's ice hockey team, based in Straubing, Germany, that competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Straubing plays its home games at the Eisstadion am Pulverturm, which has a capacity of 5,800 spectators. ...

of the German

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL) where he spent the next four seasons.

Awards

* 2004–05:

(''

'')

Career statistics

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meloche, Eric 1976 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Montreal Norfolk Admirals players Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Straubing Tigers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany