Jason Saal (born February 1, 1975) is an American 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, with the majority of his career spent in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). He spent his entire career as a journeyman, also playing 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 ...

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 ...

and

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor league, minor professional ice hockey league, with teams ...

. Although he was drafted by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in the 5th round (117 overall), he never played an NHL game. Saal retired following the 2004–05 season to be closer to his family and spend more time with his daughter. Saal returned to the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

area to become a police officer. Saal did return to professional hockey the following season playing 56 games with the

Flint Generals The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center. The Generals won two league championship ...

in the UHL before finishing the year with the

Adirondack Frostbite The Adirondack Frostbite were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Glens Falls, New York, and were a member of the United Hockey League (UHL). They played their home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The Adirondack IceHawks UHL ...

before fully retiring in 2006. His biggest career accomplishment was winning the 1995

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy The Hap Emms Memorial Trophy is awarded to the outstanding goaltender at the Memorial Cup of the Canadian Hockey League. The award is named after Leighton "Hap" Emms, a former NHL player, who had a 33 year presence in the Ontario Hockey Associa ...

, which is given to the top

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

of the Memorial Cup tournament. In 2018, he was elected into the

ECHL Hall of Fame The ECHL Hall of Fame is an ice hockey museum dedicated to honoring members that have played in the ECHL (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League). It was created by the league in 2008. The ECHL Board of Governors created the ECHL Hall of Fam ...

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References

1975 births American men's ice hockey goaltenders Adirondack Frostbite players Arkansas RiverBlades players Augusta Lynx players Dayton Bombers players Flint Generals players Hampton Roads Admirals players Living people Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) players Los Angeles Kings draft picks Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) players Portland Pirates players St. John's Maple Leafs players South Carolina Stingrays players Ice hockey players from Michigan {{US-icehockey-goaltender-stub