Robert L. Esche (born January 22, 1978) is an American 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who is the current president of the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...

of 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 ...

(AHL) and the Utica City FC of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

(MASL). He previously played eight seasons 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 ...

(NHL) for the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

Playing career

Esche started his career with the

, only to be traded to the

in a deal involving Michal Handzuš and Brian Boucher. In 2004, he claimed the starting goaltending spot for the Flyers, and led them to the Eastern Conference Finals, only to fall in seven games to the eventual

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

. While playing in Russia for

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (, , ), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a professional ice hockey club based in Kazan, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History Founded as Mashstroy Kazan in 1956, the n ...

, he posted a record of 22–5–2 with a 2.01

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA) and a .912 save percentage, along with four shutouts. Esche skated with Dinamo Minsk during the 2010–11 KHL season. In 2008–09, he posted a record of 21–14 with a 1.87 GAA and .912 save percentage, as well as nine shutouts. On June 16, 2011, the

SCL Tigers The SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the sm ...

announced they had signed the 33-year-old Esche to a contract, where he played 40 games, going 15-25, with a 3.05 GAA and .898 save percentage.

International play

Esche has represented the United States in the 1997 and 1998

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

and the IIHF World Championships in 2000, shutting out Russia in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, an accomplishment he still lists as his greatest moment in hockey. He represented the US team in 2001 and also received the starting nod at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Esche was named to the 2006 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. He played one game in the Olympic tournament, losing 5–4 to Russia. Esche played for the 2008 Team USA Hockey team in the World Championships which took place in Canada. He had earned some starts after sitting out the first few games, including a 42 save performance in a controversial 3–2 loss against Finland. He also posted a 9–1 victory against Norway.

Personal Life

Esche has two children with his former wife Kelly. Esche is nicknamed "Chico" after former NHL goaltender Chico Resch because his sticks were labeled R. Esche.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and accomplishments

* 1997–98: Second All-Star Team ( OHL) * 1998–99: All-Rookie Team ( AHL) * 2002–03: William M. Jennings Trophy ''shared with

Roman Čechmánek Roman Čechmánek (; 2 March 1971 – 11 November 2023) was a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He played professionally in the United States, the Czech Republic, and Germany, including in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia ...

PHI Phi ( ; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voiceless bilabial plos ...

and

Martin Brodeur Martin Pierre Brodeur (; born May 6, 1972) is a Canadian–American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team executive. He played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 21 of them for the New Jersey Devils, with whom ...

, NJ'' (

NHL 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 ...

) *2002–03: Yanick Dupre Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers) * 2003–04: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers) * 2008 World Championships: Best save percentage (.931) * 2008–09: Played in KHL All-Star Game

References

External links

*
Robert Esche biography
a
hockeygoalies.org
- advanced statistics and game logs {{DEFAULTSORT:Esche, Robert 1978 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players American men's ice hockey goaltenders Arizona Coyotes draft picks Detroit Whalers players American expatriate ice hockey players in Russia HC Dinamo Minsk players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey players from New York (state) Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for the United States Philadelphia Flyers players People from Whitesboro, New York Phoenix Coyotes players Plymouth Whalers players SCL Tigers players SKA Saint Petersburg players Sportspeople from Oneida County, New York Sportspeople from Utica, New York Springfield Falcons players William M. Jennings Trophy winners 21st-century American sportsmen