Rick Lessard (born January 9, 1968) 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 ...

player who played 15 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 ...

(NHL) for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

and

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. He was a seventh round selection by Calgary, 142nd overall, at the

1986 NHL Entry Draft The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...

. Lessard's six-year professional career was spent primarily in the minor leagues; he was a member of the

Kansas City Blades The Kansas City Blades were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) from 1990 until 2001, when the league folded. The Blades were based in Kansas City, Missouri, at Kemper Arena. Team history Russ and Diane Pa ...

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

championship team in 1991–92.

Playing career

A native of

Timmins, Ontario Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ex ...

, Lessard played four seasons of

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play their h ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL) between 1984 and 1988. A rugged defenceman who was willing to fight, he scored only 13 goals in his 248-game junior career, but recorded 757

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

. In his final OHL season, 1987–88, Lessard served as team captain as the 67's reached the OHL final. The

selected Lessard with their seventh round selection, 142nd overall, at the

. When he turned professional in 1988–89, the Flames assigned him to their International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

. Lessard played the majority of the season with Salt Lake where, as was one of the IHL's leading defensive scorers, he earned a brief call-up to Calgary. He played his first six NHL contests, recording one assist, and was named to the IHL First All-Star Team after scoring 10 goals and 52 points in 76 games with the Golden Eagles. Lessard played the following two seasons with Salt Lake, though he appeared in NHL one game with Calgary in 1989–90. His rights were transferred to the newly formed

in 1991 after they selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 1991 NHL Expansion Draft. Lessard appeared in eight games with the Sharks in 1991–92 but spent the majority of the season with the IHL's

. He recorded 19 points in 41 games for the Blades who won the

championship. The following two seasons had Lessard take on a nomadic existence as he played for several minor league teams. He began the 1992–93 season in Kansas City before the Sharks loaned him to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, who assigned him to the Providence Bruins, their

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 ...

(AHL) affiliate. After six games with Providence, Lessard was transferred to the

Hamilton Canucks The Hamilton Canucks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They played in Hamilton, Ontario, at Copps Coliseum. They were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The tea ...

after the Sharks dealt him to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

organization in exchange for Robin Bawa on December 15, 1992. He returned to Salt Lake City in the summer of 1993 to play with the Utah Rollerbees of

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in th ...

, He parlayed that into a return to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles to begin the 1993–94 season. Lessard also played with the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

of the

East Coast Hockey League 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 ...

and the AHL's

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

that season before retiring after six professional seasons.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Rick 1968 births Living people Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Franco-Ontarian people Hamilton Canucks players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kansas City Blades players Ottawa 67's players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players San Jose Sharks players South Carolina Stingrays players Sportspeople from Timmins Utah Rollerbees players