Eric Calder (born July 26, 1963) 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 h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played two 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 the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

. He was originally drafted by the Capitals in the

1981 NHL Entry Draft Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Prior to playing in the NHL, Calder became one of the youngest players to play for the Canadian junior team, as a 17-year-old, at the 1981 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He spent three seasons with the

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

of 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 ...

, winning the

1981 Memorial Cup Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offe ...

as a member of the team. After appearing in his two NHL games, Calder played a season of minor professional hockey with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

before returning to school, attending the

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

. While at Laurier, he was named an Ontario University Athletic Association all-star in 1986, 1987 and 1988 and a

Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

All-Canadian in 1988. Following graduation, Calder returned to the pro game, playing in France, Germany and England until retiring as a player in 1998. He is currently head coach of the Waterloo Wolves Midget AAA team that plays in the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario.

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
1963 births Living people Brest Albatros Hockey players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chamonix HC players Cornwall Royals (OHL) players Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) players Dragons de Rouen players Fort Wayne Komets players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ontario Manchester Storm (1995–2002) players Schwenninger Wild Wings players Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1960s-stub