Éric Pierre Joseph Houde (born December 19, 1976) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player who played 30 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He is an assistant coach for PWHL Montreal.

Career

Houde was drafted 216th overall by the

in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

and made his debut for the team during the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. Th ...

, playing 13 games for Montreal. He would play 17 more games over two seasons for a total of 30 games, scoring two goals and three assists for five points. Over the next two seasons, Houde had spells in 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 ...

for the Hamilton Bulldogs and

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ari ...

and the International Hockey League for the

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

and the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. In 2001, Houde moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

for

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in th ...

and then moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

in 2002 with the SERC Wild Wings. He returned to Quebec in 2003, signing for the

Verdun Dragons The Verdun Dragons were a hockey team based in Verdun, Quebec. The team was part of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. The Dragons played at the Verdun Auditorium. They won the Futura Cup against the Saint-Georges Garaga in 2003–2004. I ...

of the

Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

before returning to Europe, joining

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

Nationalliga B side

SC Langenthal Schlittschuh Club Langenthal known as SC Langenthal is a Swiss professional ice hockey team. They have played since the 2001–02 season in the Swiss League, the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the ...

. In 2004, Houde returned to Germany, spending three seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga for the

Essen Mosquitoes The Essen Mosquitoes are a professional ice hockey team from Essen, Germany that competed in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) from 1999–2000 until the 2001–02 when they lost their license due to insolvency. After this the team played in the ...

and the

Landshut Cannibals EV Landshut, also known as EVL Landshut Eishockey and formerly known as the Landshut Cannibals, are a professional ice hockey team based in Landshut, Bavaria, Germany. They currently play in Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2, the second level of ice h ...

. He moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 2007 with

Dragons de Rouen Rouen Hockey Élite 76 (also known as the Dragons de Rouen (Rouen Dragons)) is a French ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus. The team was founded in 1982 and plays home games at the Île Lacroix. History Only 3 years af ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1976 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Wolves players Essen Mosquitoes players EV Landshut players Fredericton Canadiens players Halifax Mooseheads players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Asiago Hockey 1935 players Ice hockey people from Montreal SC Langenthal players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Rouen HE 76 players Saint-Jean Lynx players Schwenninger Wild Wings players Springfield Falcons players Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1970s-stub