Tyler Eckford (born September 8, 1985) 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. Eckford played for the New Jersey Devils organization 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).

Playing career

As a youth, Eckford played in the 1999

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from Langley, British Columbia. Eckford was drafted by the Devils in the seventh round of the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout ...

. Eckford joined the University of Alaska, graduating in 2008. During his junior year at the University of Alaska, Eckford was named to the CCHA All-Conference First Team. Following university, Eckford joined the

Lowell Devils The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

, 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 ...

(AHL) affiliate of New Jersey. Eckford played three seasons with Lowell, and earned two call-ups to New Jersey. He made his NHL debut on November 20, 2009, in a shootout loss to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. He recorded his first NHL point the following day against the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

in a 5-3 loss. He was reassigned back to the AHL a few games later. On January 15, 2010, Eckford was named to the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic. After the 2010–11 season, Eckford signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Phoenix Coyotes as a free agent. Eckford played the 2011–12 season with the Portland Pirates, the Coyotes' AHL affiliate. On July 10, 2012, Eckford signed a two-year, two-way contract with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

as a free agent.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1985 births Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey players Albany Devils players Binghamton Senators players Ice hockey people from Vancouver Living people Lowell Devils players New Jersey Devils players Portland Pirates players New Jersey Devils draft picks Canadian ice hockey defencemen AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1980s-stub