Robert Ash

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United StatesUnited States  Robert Ash Ice hockey player
Robert Ash
Date of birth January 22. 1978
place of birth Utica , New York , USA
size 188 cm
Weight 102 kg
position goalkeeper
Catch hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1996 , 6th lap, 139th position
Phoenix Coyotes
Career stations
1995-1997 Detroit Whalers
1997-1998 Plymouth Whalers
1998-2002 Phoenix Coyotes
2002-2007 Philadelphia Flyers
2007-2008 Ak Bars Kazan
2008-2010 SKA Saint Petersburg
2010-2011 HK Dinamo Minsk
2011–2012 SCL Tigers

Robert L. Esche (born January 22, 1978 in Utica , New York ) is a former American ice hockey goalkeeper who was active for eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers .

Career

During his time as a junior he played in the Ontario Hockey League for the Detroit Whalers . At that time, Robert was drawn by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in the sixth round (overall in 139th place). He stayed in Detroit for a year and then moved to Plymouth with the Whalers.

His first appearances in the NHL he made with the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1998/99 season , but most of the time he spent in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons . With the Coyotes there were always other goalkeepers in front of him. At first it was Nikolai Chabibulin , later Sean Burke was the man between the posts. By the 2001/02 season he had fought his way up to the substitute goalkeeper, because he was given together with Michal Handzuš, inter alia, for goalie Brian Boucher to the Philadelphia Flyers .

In Philadelphia , he won in 2003 together with his teammate Roman Čechmánek the William M. Jennings Trophy as a goalkeeper with the fewest goals against, but they had the trophy with Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils share. After Cechmanek's departure, he was the Flyers' first goalkeeper in the 2003/04 season ; his former teammate Sean Burke was one of his backups.

From the 2005/06 season he formed the goalkeeper team with the Flyers with Finnish goalie Antero Niittymäki . While he took part in the playoffs with the team in the spring of 2006 and took over the post as regular goalkeeper, he and the Flyers disappointed in the 2006/07 season when they finished last in the league. In addition to several injuries, it was mainly his poor performance that meant that he was only number three in the ranking behind Niittymäki and Martin Biron , who has since been committed.

His contract was not renewed by the Flyers in the summer of 2007 and was initially unable to find a new team as an unrestricted free agent . In October 2007 he was committed by Ak Bars Kazan from the Russian Super League , which reacted to the bad start of the season with 19 points from 17 games. Between 2008 and 2010 he was under contract with SKA Saint Petersburg from the KHL founded in 2008 . He spent the 2010/11 season at HK Dinamo Minsk before he was signed by the SCL Tigers from the National League A in June 2011 . After a season in Switzerland, he ended his career.

International

Robert Esche took part with Team USA in the Junior World Championships 1997 and 1998 , the World Championships 2000 , 2001 , 2008 and 2009 , the World Cup of Hockey 2004 and the Olympic Winter Games 2006 .

Achievements and Awards

  • 2008 KHL goalkeeper of the month November
  • 2009 KHL All-Star Game
  • 2010 KHL goalkeeper of the month January

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ash, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Esche, Robert L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ice hockey goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Utica , New York, United States