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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

player who played 30 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

. He is an assistant coach for

PWHL Montreal The Montreal Victoire () are a professional ice hockey team based in the Greater Montreal area that competes in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They are one of the six charter franchises of the league. The team plays its home game ...

Career

Houde was drafted 216th overall by the

in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft 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 Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Fl ...

, 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 in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

for the Hamilton Bulldogs and

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a 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 Arizona Co ...

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 Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars i ...

and the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

. In 2001, Houde moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

for

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German language, German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' o ...

and then moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

in 2002 with the

SERC Wild Wings The Schwenninger Wild Wings are a professional German ice hockey team from Villingen-Schwenningen in Baden-Wuerttemberg that was founded on 20 July 1904 and currently plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The greatest success of the associa ...

. 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. Init ...

of the

Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

before returning to Europe, joining

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Nationalliga B side

SC Langenthal Schlittschuh Club Langenthal known as SC Langenthal is a Swiss ice hockey team that currently competes in the third tier, MyHockey League. They played in the Swiss League, the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland ...

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

. He moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2007 with

Dragons de Rouen The Dragons de Rouen (Rouen Dragons), are a French professional 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 after its founding, the cl ...

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