Welcome to the latest Chapter of Florida Panthers History. If you’d like to read up on what the standards and conditions for this list consist of, click here.
Yesterday, we checked out G Kirk McLean (13-12-5, 2.85, .898), D Sean Hill (78 games, two goals, 18 assists), and D Todd Simpson (107 games, two goals, nine assists). In today’s look back, we’ll check out three defensemen, an American, a Canadian, and a Swede.
Follow the jump to read on.
105. Jordan Leopold
Leopold was a 6′ defenseman from Golden Valley, Minnesota. He was picked by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft with the 44th overall pick. Instead of reporting to the Ducks, he elected instead to stay the course with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 164 collegiate games, he racked up 45 goals and 99 assists, graduating with the Class of 2002.
Eventually, Leopold ended up joining the Calgary Flames for the 2002-03 NHL season. In three seasons with the Flames, he totalled 15 goals and 52 assists with a minus-1 rating and 104 PIM in 214 contests. Calgary traded him to the Colorado Avalanche during the 2006 offseason (just prior to FA day) along with a second round pick and “future considerations” for Alex Tanguay.
Leopold played in 122 games for the Avs over the next three seasons with 13 goals and 25 assists, a minus-9 rating and 52 PIM. Colorado sent him back to Calgary for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson and a second round pick on March 4, 2009. He finished the season with the Flames, scoring a goal and three assists in 19 games. The Flames traded him to the Panthers on draft day 2009 with a third round pick for Jay Bouwmeester.
Leopold was solid in Florida’s first and second pairings, averaging 22:25 TOI per match. He scored seven goals (including a game winner on January 31 in a 2-0 win over the New York Islanders) on 69 shots, dished out 11 assists, posted a minus-7 rating and 22 PIM (see video).
Leopold From The Slot (12/11/09) (via theultimategoalcom)
The Panthers traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1 for a second round pick. He scored four goals and four assists for the Pens to close out the season. In Pittsburgh’s postseason, he ran into a little trouble, according to wikipedia.org:
On April 16, 2010, in Game 2 of a playoff series between the Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, Leopold’s series was ended by a hit from Senators‘ defenceman Andy Sutton. Leopold, who had a history of concussion injuries, remained unconscious on the ice for several minutes.[15] He returned to the lineup in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the Montreal Canadiens.
2010-11 would see Leopold sign a free agent contract with the Buffalo Sabres. In two seasons with the club he has scored 23 goals and 36 assists in 150 contests. He is currently signed with the club through the end of the 2012-13 season.
All-Time Statline: One season, 61 games, seven goals, 11 assists, 18 points, minus-7 rating, 22 PIM, 3.3 APS.
104. Lyle Odelein
Odelein was a 5’11” defenseman from Quill Lake, Saskatchewan. He was originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft with the 141st overall pick. In three seasons with the WHL Moose Jaw Warriors, he totalled 33 goals and 130 assists in 189 games.
In 1988-89, Odelein made his professional debut, splitting the season between the IHL Peoria Rivermen (36 games, two goals, eight assists), and the AHL Sherbrooke Canadiens (33 games, three goals, four assists). 1989-90 would see him play 68 games with Sherbrooke (68 games, seven goals, 24 assists), also collecting two assists in his first NHL appearance in eight games with Montreal near the end of the season.
Odelein played seven seasons with the Canadiens (420 games, 20 goals, 75 assists, plus-59 rating, 1,367 PIM). He would later make appearances with the New Jersey Devils (285 games, 13 goals, 73 assists, plus-23 rating, 499 PIM), the Phoenix Coyotes (16 games, one goal, seven assists, plus-1 rating, 19 PIM), the Columbus Blue Jackets (146 games, five goals, 28 assists, minus-44 rating, 207 PIM), the Chicago Blackhawks (77 games, seven goals, six assists, plus-7 rating, 80 PIM), and the Dallas Stars (three games, six PIM). Florida took him on as a free agent prior to the 2003-04 pre-season camp.
Odelein played in all 82 games for the Panthers, mostly as part of the second pairing. He averaged 18:53 TOI, scoring four goals on 67 shots with 12 assists, a minus-7 rating, and 88 PIM (third on the team). Florida retained his rights after the season, but as we know, 2004-05 never happened. He signed on with the Penguins for the 2005-06 season, making one assist in 27 games before injuring his knee against Chicago on January 13. He retired from pro hockey shortly thereafter. His 2,316 NHL penalty minutes place him 29th on the all-time list. He was always a guy who played his heart out, 100% (see video).
Lyle Odelein – ALL HEART (via SFT79)
All-Time Statline: One season, 82 games, four goals, 12 assists, 16 points, minus-7 rating, 88 PIM, 3.4 APS.
103. Anders Eriksson
Eriksson was a 6’3″ defenseman from Bollnas, Sweden. He was a first round selection of the Detroit Red Wings, selected 22nd overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played with MoDo HK Ornskoldsvik in the Swedish League for three seasons before coming to North America, also appearing with the Swedish World Juniors team.
1995-96 would see Eriksson spend most of his season with the AHL Adirondack Red Wings (75 games, six goals, 36 assists). He also made his NHL debut later in the season, playing one regular season and three playoff matches with Detroit.
Eriksson played in parts of four seasons with the Wings (151 games, nine goals, 30 assists, plus-32 rating, 78 PIM). He added five assists in 21 playoff games with Detroit, helping the team to the Stanley Cup in 1998. The Red Wings traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks with two first round picks for Chris Chelios on March 23, 1999.
In parts of three seasons with Chicago, Eriksson racked up five goals and 36 assists in 97 games. The Blackhawks traded him to the Panthers on November 6, 2000 for Jaroslav Spacek. With the Panthers, Eriksson averaged 21:02 TOI through 60 contests in Florida’s second pairing. He took 80 shots on goal during his time with the team, but did not register a goal. He did, however collect 21 assists, including multiple-assist games on three occasions. He closed out the season with a plus-2 rating and 28 PIM.
2001-02 would see Eriksson open the season as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs (38 games, zero goals, two assists, even rating, 12 PIM), later lacing up for the Columbus Blue Jackets (145 games, seven goals, 43 assists, plus-6 rating, 64 PIM), the Phoenix Coyotes (12 games, zero goals, three assists, even rating, two PIM), and the New York Rangers (eight games, zero goals, two assists, plus-2 rating, zero PIM).
Eriksson most recently played with the Swedish team he played with during his formative years, Modo Ornskoldsvik, in 2010-11.
All-Time Statline: One season, 60 games, zero goals, 21 assists, 21 points, plus-2 rating, 28 PIM, 3.5 APS.
Thanks for stopping by to check out today’s entry. Be sure to leave comments below, vote in the poll, and come back tomorrow for a Russian left winger, a Czech defenseman, and a currently rostered Panther at number 100, a left winger from Finland.
Today’s featured defensemen all had very long NHL careers, just not with Florida. Who’s game was your favorite given these three choices?
| Lyle Odelein | 16 |
| Anders Eriksson | 3 |
| Jordan Leopold | 38 |