Cory Pecker (born March 20, 1981) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
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 ...
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. He was drafted in the sixth round, 166th overall, by the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...
in the
1999 NHL Entry Draft
The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talen ...
.
Playing career
Pecker was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec
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 ...
, and is Jewish.
At 15 years of age, playing for Team Canada, Pecker was the youngest player to play in the
1997 Maccabiah Games
The 15th Maccabiah Games are remembered for being marred by a bridge collapse that killed several participants.
The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports for the Games included beach volleybal ...
ice hockey tournament in Israel.
The team won the gold medal.
He played five seasons in the
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
(OHL) with the
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in the ...
and
Erie Otters
The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...
.
In 2002, Pecker was the Player of the Year in the OHL, despite missing six weeks with a broken arm.
Pecker made his professional debut with the
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary mi ...
of 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 ...
(AHL) in the
2002–03 season. He would spend his entire North American professional career in the AHL, including with the
Binghamton Senators
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sen ...
,
Manitoba Moose
The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...
, and
San Antonio Rampage
The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sol ...
; with the exception of two brief stints in the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
Th ...
with the
San Diego Gulls
The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play t ...
and
Phoenix RoadRunners.
Pecker moved to Europe and signed with
HC Lausanne of the Swiss League in 2007.
He spent five seasons in the Swiss League, also playing for
EHC Visp
EHC Visp is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Visp and competing in the Swiss League (SL). The club was founded in 1939 and became Swiss champion in 1962. Visp has also won the league title in NLB three times; 1960, 2011 and 2014.
T ...
and
EHC Olten
EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National Leagu ...
. In 2012, he played seven games for the
Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...
of the EIHL, before retiring from professional hockey in 2013.
Career statistics
See also
*
List of select Jewish ice hockey players
References
External links
*
1981 births
Binghamton Senators players
Calgary Flames draft picks
Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players
Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games
Erie Otters players
Ice hockey people from Montreal
Jewish Canadian sportspeople
Jewish ice hockey players
Lausanne HC players
Living people
Maccabiah Games competitors by sport
Maccabiah Games competitors for Canada
Manitoba Moose players
EHC Olten players
Phoenix RoadRunners players
San Antonio Rampage players
San Diego Gulls (ECHL) players
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players
Sheffield Steelers players
EHC Visp players
EV Zug players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
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