Peter Ratchuk

Peter Ratchuk
Ratchuk with the Houston Aeros in 2007
Born	(1977-09-10) September 10, 1977 (age 47) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	Florida Panthers Frankfurt Lions Adler Mannheim DEG Metro Stars Hamburg Freezers EC KAC
NHL draft	25th overall, 1996 Colorado Avalanche
Playing career	1998–2011

Peter J. Ratchuk (born September 10, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League with the Florida Panthers. Peter is the older brother of Mike Ratchuk, a defenseman who has played most of his career in American minor leagues.

Playing career

Ratchuk was drafted in the first round, 25th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. ^[1] He grew up playing for the Cazenovia Chiefs. After his freshman year with Bowling Green State University, Ratchuk moved to the QMJHL with Hull Olympiques before turning pro.

Ratchuk was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers prior to the 1998–99 season. He played 32 games with the Panthers over two seasons, 1998–99 and 2000–01. He scored one goal and one assist.

After that, he was picked up by his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres. During the 2002 preseason, he was sent down to that team's farm club, the Rochester Americans, for the 2002–03 season, then left to play in Germany. This resulted in a rather amusing error in ESPN's hockey recaps—in Sabres game recaps, Ratchuk's name would often be used mistakenly to refer to Dmitri Kalinin, a then current Sabres defenseman. Both Ratchuk and Kalinin wore #45, and ESPN never dissociated Ratchuk from the Sabres in their database when he left the league, resulting in the error.^{[ citation needed ]}

After playing three seasons in Germany's DEL, Ratchuk returned to North America in 2006–07 signing with the Minnesota Wild on June 6, 2006. ^[2] Ratchuk split the season between the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Ratchuk then returned to the DEL with the DEG Metro Stars and after his second season with the Stars he was released on April 20, 2009. ^[3] On June 21, 2009, Peter signed with fellow DEL team Hamburg Freezers for the 2009–10. ^[4]

On April 29, 2010, after failing to make the playoffs with the Freezers, Ratchuk left for the Austrian Hockey League's Klagenfurt AC. ^[5] He played the majority of the 2010-11 season with Klagenfurt posting 19 points in 39 games before leaving for the Swiss National League A, to join Rapperswil-Jona Lakers on January 30, 2011, to end the year. ^[6]

Following the conclusion of the season, Ratchuk retired and was announced as a scout for the newly revived Winnipeg Jets association of the NHL.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994–95	Lawrence Academy	HS–Prep		31	8	15	23	18		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Shattuck–Saint Mary's	Midget		32	22	28	50	24		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Bowling Green State University	CCHA		35	9	12	21	14		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Hull Olympiques	QMJHL		60	23	31	54	34		11	3	6	9	8
1998–99	Beast of New Haven	AHL		53	7	20	27	44		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Florida Panthers	NHL		24	1	1	2	10		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Louisville Panthers	AHL		76	9	17	26	64		4	1	2	3	0
2000–01	Louisville Panthers	AHL		64	5	13	18	85		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		8	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		75	16	23	39	55		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Rochester Americans	AHL		70	11	21	32	64		3	0	1	1	6
2003–04	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		52	21	22	43	80		15	1	5	6	16
2004–05	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		51	10	26	36	102		11	2	3	5	14
2005–06	Adler Mannheim	DEL		52	12	24	36	88		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Houston Aeros	AHL		50	5	16	21	74		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		22	2	5	7	22		10	0	1	1	8
2007–08	DEG Metro Stars	DEL		54	10	26	36	111		13	1	4	5	10
2008–09	DEG Metro Stars	DEL		47	5	16	21	54		16	0	4	4	24
2009–10	Hamburg Freezers	DEL		56	9	23	32	48		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	EC KAC	EBEL		39	6	13	19	24		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Rapperswil–Jona Lakers	NLA		1	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				410	55	115	170	408		17	1	4	5	14
NHL totals				32	1	1	2	10		—	—	—	—	—
DEL totals				312	67	137	204	473		55	4	16	20	64

References

1. Northrop, Milt (June 24, 1996). "South Buffalonian has all the career goals covered". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
2. "Wild signs former first rounder Peter Ratchuk". wild.nhl.com. June 6, 2006. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
3. "DEG: Holland kommt, Ratchuk geht" (in German). rp-online.de. April 20, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
4. "Hamburg Freezers sign Peter Ratchuk and Mathieu Biron" (in German). flensburg-online.de. June 21, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
5. "Peter Ratchuk signed to replace Jeff Tory" (in German). Klagenfurt AC. April 29, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
6. "Peter Ratchuk to the Lakers" (in German). Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. January 30, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Marc Denis	Colorado Avalanche first round draft pick 1996	Succeeded by Kevin Grimes