Eric Hartzell (born May 28, 1989) is an American 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 last played abroad for

HK Nitra Hokejový Klub Nitra is a professional ice hockey club based in Nitra, Slovakia. The club has been a member of the Slovak Extraliga since the 2003–04 season and winner of Slovak Extraliga in the 2015–16 season. History The club was founded ...

in the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

(Slovak).

Playing career

Prior to turning professional, Hartzell attended

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

where he played four seasons of

NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

with the

Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey The Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Quinnipiac University. The Bobcats are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the M&T Bank Are ...

team. In his final year with the Bobcats, Hartzell was selected to the 2012–2013 NCAA (East) First All-American Team, was named NCAA Top Collegiate Player

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

Hat Trick Finalist, and was selected as the USCHO.com Player of the Year. On April 14, 2013, Hartzell was signed to a two-year entry level contract with 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 ...

. He made his professional debut in the 2013–14 season with Pittsburgh's

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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate, 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 ...

. At the conclusion of his contract with the Penguins, Hartzell was not tendered a new deal and was released to free agency. Unable to garner interest in the NHL or AHL, Hartzell was signed by the

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, th ...

of the ECHL on October 11, 2015. Hartzell appeared in 5 games with the Steelheads in the 2015–16 season, before he was loaned on a professional try-out contract to the Stockton Heat of the AHL on November 7, 2015. After featured in relief in a single games with the Heat, Hartzell opted to venture to Germany for the remainder of the season, linking up with

Heilbronner Falken Heilbronner Falken (; 'Heilbronn Falcons') are a professional ice hockey team based in Heilbronn, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

of the

DEL2 DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the '' Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (DEL) and ahead of the '' Oberliga''. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct '' 2nd Bundesliga'', DEL2 is administered by ESBG, u ...

. As a free agent after his tenure with Heilbronner, Hartzell opted to return to the ECHL signing a one-year deal with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...

to share goaltending duties alongside Pat Nagle on August 8, 2016. In the 2016–17 season, Hartzell appeared in 19 games with the Komets for 7 wins. Relegated to a backup role, Hartzell opted to conclude his contract with Fort Wayne and return to Europe, signing a deal for the remainder of the year with Slovakian club, HK Nitra of Slovak Extraliga on January 7, 2017.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1989 births Living people American men's ice hockey goaltenders Fort Wayne Komets players Heilbronner Falken players Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Sportspeople from White Bear Lake, Minnesota HK Nitra players Quad City Mallards (ECHL) players Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey players Sioux Falls Stampede players Stockton Heat players Wheeling Nailers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American expatriate ice hockey players in Germany American expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia {{US-icehockey-goaltender-stub