John Erskine (ice hockey)

54
John Erskine (ice hockey) bigraphy, stories - Canadian ice hockey defenceman

John Erskine (ice hockey) : biography

June 26, 1980 –

John Erskine (born June 26, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals.

Playing career

Erskine grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Ajax, Ontario for the Ajax Knights of the OMHA’s York-Simcoe League and the Ajax-Pickering Raiders AAA of the OMHA’s Eastern AAA League.

After a solid 1995-96 season with the Ajax-Pickering Raiders Midget AAA team, Erskine signed for the following season with the Quinte Hawks Jr.A. team of the OHA’s Metro Junior League.

The London Knights selected Erskine with the 2nd overall pick in the 1997 OHL Priority Selection.

Erskine was drafted 39th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. For the 1997–98, 1998–99, and 1999–2000 seasons, Erskine played for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Erskine won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as top defenceman in the OHL in 1999–2000. He showed marked improvement from season to season until his promotion to the Utah Grizzlies of the International Hockey League in 2000.

Erskine’s NHL debut came during the 2001–02 NHL season with Dallas, where he played 33 games, notching a single assist. He remained in Dallas until midway through the 2005–06 NHL season when Dallas traded Erskine to the New York Islanders for Finnish defenceman Janne Niinimaa. At the conclusion of the season, the Islanders did not re-sign Erskine, leaving him a free agent.

On September 14, 2006, Erskine signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals. Following the end of the season he extended his stay with the Capitals for a further two years.

During the Winter Classic played on January 1, 2011, Erskine got into the 2nd fight in the Winter Classic, squaring off against Pittsburgh’s Michael Rupp, with both players throwing solid punches, with Erskine being declared the winner.

Awards

  • 1999–2000 OHL First All-Star Team
  • 1999–2000 OHL Max Kaminsky Trophy
  • 1999–2000 CHL First All-Star Team (Canadian Major Junior)

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Ajax-Pickering Raiders Midget OMHA 49 11 29 40 122
1996–97 Quinte Hawks MTJHL 46 7 19 26 143
1997–98 London Knights OHL 55 0 9 9 205 16 0 5 5 25
1998–99 London Knights OHL 57 8 12 20 208 25 5 10 15 38
1999–00 London Knights OHL 58 12 31 43 177
2000–01 Utah Grizzlies IHL 77 1 8 9 284
2001–02 Utah Grizzlies AHL 39 2 6 8 118 3 0 0 0 10
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 33 0 1 1 62
2002–03 Utah Grizzlies AHL 52 2 8 10 274 1 0 1 1 15
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 16 2 0 2 29
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 32 0 1 1 84
2003–04 Utah Grizzlies AHL 5 0 0 0 18
2004–05 Houston Aeros AHL 61 3 7 10 238 5 0 1 1 20
2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 26 0 0 0 62
2005–06 Iowa Stars AHL 3 0 0 0 6
2005–06 New York Islanders NHL 34 1 0 1 99
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 29 1 6 7 69
2006–07 Hershey Bears AHL 4 0 2 2 9
2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 51 2 7 9 96 7 0 2 2 6
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 52 0 4 4 63 12 0 1 1 16
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 50 1 5 6 66
2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 73 4 7 11 94 9 1 1 2 6
2011–12 Washington Capitals NHL 28 0 2 2 51 4 0 1 1 0
2012–13 Washington Capitals NHL 30 3 3 6 34 7 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 454 14 36 50 809 39 1 6 7 32