Eric Boulton (born August 17, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

left 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 ...

. Boulton was drafted 234th overall in the ninth round of the 1994 draft by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. While he never played for the Rangers, he played for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

and

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 ( ...

between 2000 and 2016. Boulton was best known for his role as an

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Playing career

Boulton was drafted in the ninth round, 234th overall by the

in the 1994 Entry Draft of 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). Despite being drafted by the Rangers, he would eventually make his NHL debut playing for the

, where he played for four seasons. During the

2004 NHL Lockout 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, he played for the

Columbia Inferno The Columbia Inferno were an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2008, the team went on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County, South Carolina. However, the ECHL dropped Columb ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. After the Lockout ended, Boulton began playing with the

. In October 2005, Boulton was suspended for six games after elbowing

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

rookie

Paul Ranger Paul D. Ranger (born September 12, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an assistant coach with the UOIT Ridgebacks. He has spent the majority of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

, causing a hairline fracture of the jaw and a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

. The incident occurred at the end of a 6–0 rout of the Thrashers on October 20, 2005. NHL vice-president

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

said, "It is clear Mr. Boulton's actions were careless and caused injury. There is no circumstance that can justify this type of action." Only a week earlier, Boulton had made a similar move in a game against 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 ...

, almost injuring

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals pr ...

. Boulton was re-signed by the Thrashers in 2008 to a two-year deal. He recorded his first career

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on December 18, 2010, against the

. He then signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Devils for a 2-year contract worth $575,000 in the first year and $750,000 in the second, joining former Thrashers teammates

Ilya Kovalchuk Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey winger. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montrea ...

and

Johan Hedberg Johan "Moose" Hedberg (born 5 May 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career that lasted from 1993 to 2014 he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, and New Jer ...

. After a dismal season in which the Devils did not record a single goal for with Boulton on the ice, Boulton was bought out of the final year of his contract on June 30, 2012. The next day, Boulton proceeded to sign a one-year deal with the

. He re-signed with the Islanders for the next three consecutive seasons as well, all on one-year deals. Boulton is the Thrashers' all-time leader in penalty minutes with 639 penalty minutes. After the 2016–17 season, Boulton ended his professional career, however continued his association with the Islanders in accepting a scouting role.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulton, Eric 1976 births Living people Albany Devils players Atlanta Thrashers players Binghamton Rangers players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of English descent Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players Columbia Inferno players Florida Everblades players Fort Wayne Komets players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Kentucky Thoroughblades players New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders players New York Rangers draft picks Oshawa Generals players Rochester Americans players Sarnia Sting players