Robert Esche
| Robert Esche | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
January 22, 1978 Whitesboro, NY, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for |
Phoenix Coyotes Philadelphia Flyers Ak Bars Kazan SKA Saint Petersburg HC Dinamo Minsk SCL Tigers | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
139th overall, 1996 Phoenix Coyotes | ||
| Playing career | 1998–2012 | ||
Robert L. Esche (born January 22, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is the current general manager of the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL). He previously played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers.
Playing career
Esche started his career with the Phoenix Coyotes, only to be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in a deal involving Michal Handzuš and Brian Boucher. In 2004, he claimed the starting goaltending spot for the Flyers, and led them to the Eastern Conference Finals, only to fall in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
While playing in Russia for Ak Bars, he posted a record of 22–5–2 with a 2.01 GAA and a .912 save percentage along with 4 shutouts.
He skated with Dynamo-Minsk during the 2010–11 KHL season. In 2008–09 he posted a record of 21–14 with a 1.87 Goals against average, and .912 save percentage. He also posted 9 shutouts.
On June 16, 2011, the SCL Tigers announced they have signed the 33-year-old Esche to a contract and will arrive in late July to start his training with the team.[1]
International play
Esche has represented the United States in the 1997 and 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the IIHF World Championships in 2000, shutting out Russia in Russia, an accomplishment he still lists as his greatest moment in hockey. He represented the US team in 2001 and also received the starting nod at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Esche was named to the 2006 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team in Turin. He played one game in the Olympic tournament, losing 5–4 to Russia.
Esche played for the 2008 Team USA Hockey team in the World Championships which took place in Canada. He had earned some starts after sitting out the first few games, including a 42 save performance in a controversial 3–2 loss against Finland. He also posted a 9–1 victory against Norway.
Personal
Esche is married and has two children.[1] He hails from Whitesboro, New York, where he contributes much to the community and charitable organizations with his spare time.
Esche is nicknamed "Chico" after former NHL goaltender Chico Resch because his sticks are labeled R. Esche.[2]
Awards and accomplishments
- 1997–98: Second All-Star Team (OHL)
- 1998–99: All-Rookie Team (AHL)
- 2002–03: William M. Jennings Trophy shared with Roman Cechmanek, PHI and Martin Brodeur, NJ (NHL)
- 2002–03: Yanick Dupre Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2003–04: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2008 World Championships: Best save percentage (.931)
- 2008–09: Played in KHL All-Star Game
Career statistics
Regular season
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Detroit Whalers | OHL | 23 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1139 | 71 | 1 | 3.74 | — |
| 1996–97 | Detroit Whalers | OHL | 58 | 24 | 28 | 2 | 3241 | 206 | 2 | 3.81 | .878 |
| 1997–98 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 48 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 2810 | 135 | 3 | 2.88 | .896 |
| 1998–99 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 55 | 24 | 20 | 6 | 2957 | 138 | 1 | 2.80 | .905 |
| 1998–99 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 130 | 7 | 0 | 3.23 | .860 |
| 1999–00 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 21 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1207 | 61 | 2 | 3.03 | .912 |
| 1999–00 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 419 | 16 | 2 | 2.29 | .922 |
| 1999–00 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 408 | 23 | 0 | 3.38 | .893 |
| 2000–01 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 25 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 1350 | 68 | 2 | 3.02 | .896 |
| 2001–02 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 22 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1145 | 52 | 1 | 2.72 | .902 |
| 2001–02 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 |
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 30 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 1638 | 60 | 2 | 2.20 | .907 |
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 40 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 2322 | 79 | 3 | 2.04 | .915 |
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 40 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 2286 | 113 | 1 | 2.97 | .897 |
| 2006–07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 18 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 860 | 62 | 1 | 4.32 | .872 |
| 2007–08 | Ak Bars Kazan | RSL | 18 | — | — | — | 1095 | 34 | 3 | 1.86 | — |
| 2008–09 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 38 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 2183 | 68 | 9 | 1.87 | .912 |
| 2009–10 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 42 | 29 | 7 | 5 | 2527 | 87 | 6 | 2.07 | .917 |
| 2010–11 | HC Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 24 | 5 | 14 | 5 | 1383 | 76 | 0 | 3.30 | .897 |
| 2011–12 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 40 | 15 | 25 | 0 | 2305 | 117 | 1 | 3.05 | .898 |
| NHL totals | 186 | 78 | 64 | 22 | 10,140 | 464 | 10 | 2.75 | .900 | ||
Playoffs
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Detroit Whalers | OHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 105 | 4 | 0 | 2.29 | — |
| 1996–97 | Detroit Whalers | OHL | 5 | 1 | 4 | 317 | 19 | 0 | 3.60 | — |
| 1997–98 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 15 | 8 | 7 | 868 | 45 | 0 | 3.11 | .920 |
| 1998–99 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 4.02 | .867 |
| 1999–00 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 180 | 12 | 0 | 4.01 | .878 |
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 | .929 |
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 18 | 11 | 7 | 1060 | 41 | 1 | 2.32 | .918 |
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 6 | 2 | 4 | 314 | 22 | 0 | 4.20 | .875 |
| 2007–08 | AK Bars Kazan | RSL | 10 | — | — | 609 | 25 | 1 | 2.46 | — |
| 2008–09 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 185 | 8 | 0 | 2.59 | .877 |
| 2009–10 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 4 | — | — | 236 | 9 | 0 | 2.29 | .910 |
| 2010–11 | HC Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 4 | — | — | 216 | 7 | 0 | 1.94 | .942 |
| 2011–12 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 259 | 8 | 0 | 1.85 | .914 |
| NHL totals | 25 | 13 | 11 | 1405 | 64 | 1 | 2.73 | .907 | ||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | United States | WJC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 238 | 13 | 0 | 3.28 | — | |
| 2000 | United States | WC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 | .984 | |
| 2001 | United States | WC | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 359 | 13 | 0 | 2.17 | .931 | |
| 2004 | United States | WCH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 237 | 10 | 0 | 2.53 | .909 | |
| 2006 | United States | OG | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 5.10 | .762 | |
| 2008 | United States | WC | 4 | — | — | — | 198 | 7 | 0 | 2.12 | .931 | |
| 2009 | United States | WC | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 480 | 25 | 0 | 3.12 | .891 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 25 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 1453 | 61 | 1 | — | — | |||
References
- ^ a b "The SCL Tigers complete their defense with goaltender Robert Esche and the defender Philippe Rytz" (in German). scltigers.ch. June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ^ "Robert L. 'Chico' Esche". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
External links
Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Robert Esche biography at hockeygoalies.org - advanced statistics and game logs
- 1978 births
- Ak Bars Kazan players
- American ice hockey goaltenders
- Detroit Whalers players
- Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- HC Dinamo Minsk players
- Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
- Ice hockey people from New York
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Olympic ice hockey players of the United States
- Sportspeople from Utica, New York
- Philadelphia Flyers players
- Arizona Coyotes draft picks
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- Plymouth Whalers players
- SCL Tigers players
- SKA Saint Petersburg players
- Springfield Falcons players
- William M. Jennings Trophy winners
- People from Whitesboro, New York