Sean Blanchard

Last updated

Sean Blanchard
Sean Blanchard.JPG
Born (1978-03-29) March 29, 1978 (age 46)
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
ACH team
Former teams
Brantford Blast
Mississippi Sea Wolves
Lowell Lock Monsters
Florida Everblades
London Knights
Ritten Sport
GCK Lions
Augusta Lynx
Iserlohn Roosters
Freezers
Frankfurt Lions
Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg
Stoney Creek Generals
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL draft 99th overall, 1997
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1998present

Sean Blanchard (born March 29, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Brantford Blast in Allan Cup Hockey. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, and spent most of his professional career in Europe.

Contents

Playing career

Junior

Sean Blanchard started his junior hockey career with the Valley East Cobras of the Great North Midget League. [1] Following a successful season with the Cobra's, Blanchard was drafted 13th overall by the Ottawa 67's in the 1994 OHL Priority Draft. [1] He would go on to play for the 67's during all four years of his junior eligibility. During his third season in Ottawa, he had a breakout year winning several awards including the Max Kaminsky Trophy, [2] CHL Defenceman of the Year, [3] as well as being named as both an OHL and CHL First Team All Star. As a result of his play, Blanchard was drafted in the fourth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. [4] Blanchard returned to the capital as an overage player, where his was once again named as an OHL First Team All Star, and narrowly lost winning his second Max Kaminsky Trophy to fellow OHL All Star Chris Allen. [2] Following the culmination of his fourth year in Ottawa, Blanchard turned professional.

Professional career

North America

Upon turning professional, Blanchard split time between the Springfield Falcons of the AHL and the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL, both of whom were the Kings' farm teams. [5] He would spend the majority of the season with the Sea Wolves, and helped the team win the Kelly Cup, beating the Richmond Renegades in the finals. [6] The Kings would change their farm teams in the off-season, and as a result Blanchard would spend the 1999–00 season with both the AHL's Lowell Lock Monsters and the ECHL's Trenton Titans. The following season, Blanchard would primarily play for Florida Everblades of the ECHL, but would also dress for the Grand Rapids Griffins and Manitoba Moose, both of the IHL. In Florida he would have a decent season, scoring 30 points in 51 games.

Europe

Following his time in Florida, Blanchard moved the Europe in order to play for the London Knights of the BISL. [7] His first season with the Knights saw the team qualify for the playoffs, before narrowly losing to the Sheffield Steelers in the semi-finals. In his second year with the Knights, the team would make it to the playoff final, ultimately losing to the Belfast Giants. Following the culmination of the 2002–03 season, the team would fold as a result of their rink, the London Arena, being sold to developers. This, coupled with the Ayr Scottish Eagles and Manchester Storm also folding, and the Bracknell Bees deciding to drop down to the BNL, culminated in the demise of the BISL. [8] [9]

Following the dissolution of the Knights, Blanchard moved to Italy, signing with Serie A side SV Ritten for the 2003–04 season. In his first season in Italy, Blanchard would have a great season, scoring 49 points in 41 games, tying Kent Simpson as the team's top scorer. He would remain with the team for the following season, tallying 24 points in 36 games. [1] For the 2005–06 season, Blanchard moved across the border to Zürich. There, Blanchard played sparingly for ZSC Lions of the NLA, but also played for GCK Lions of the NLB, ZSC's affiliate team. [1] Blanchard returned to North America for a season, splitting time between the AHL's Portland Pirates and their ECHL affiliate Augusta Lynx; he had a strong season with the Lynx, scoring 47 points in 57 games, and was named as a Second Team All-Star. [10]

For the 2007–08 season, Blanchard returned to Europe in order to play for DEL side Iserlohn Roosters, where he had a solid season, tallying 24 points in 46 games, helping the team to a 5th-place finish. At the culmination of the season, Blanchard remained in Germany, but moved to the Hamburg Freezers, registering 20 points in 51 games as the team finished 8th. He then joined another DEL side Frankfurt Lions for the 2009–10 season. [11] The Lions had a strong season, finishing 2nd during the regular season before losing to 7th seed ERC Ingolstadt in the first round the playoffs. For the 2010–11 season, Blanchard moved to the Nürnberg Ice Tigers, helping the team finish 10th. He then returned to Iserlohn for the 2011–12 season, however, the team struggled, finishing 10th. One more season in Germany would follow, with Grizzlys Adams Wolfsburg. The team would also finish 10th, however would qualify for the playoffs, before losing to Kölner Haie in the semi-finals. Following his 6th season in Germany, Blanchard retired from professional hockey.

Allan Cup Hockey

Despite retiring as a professional, Blanchard continued to play, signing with the newly formed senior hockey team Stoney Creek Generals, of Allan Cup Hockey. Upon joining the Generals, he reunited with former Knights teammate Dennis Maxwell. [12] Between 2016 and 2019, the Generals would win the league four times on a trot, and in 2018 would go on to win the Allan Cup, beating the Lacombe Generals in the final. [13] Following the culmination of the 2018–19 season, the Generals were sold and relocated, thus becoming the Brantford Blast. [14] Blanchard was named team captain - a position he held for the previous two season in Stoney Creek - and the team made it to the ACH Finals against the Hamilton Steelhawks. The finals were cancelled, however, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [15]

As of July 2020, Blanchard is the sole remaining active member of the former London Knights. [16]

International

Blanchard was named to the Canadian team for the 1998 World Junior Championships. [17] The team lost in the quarterfinals to Russia, during which game Blanchard registered his only point of the tournament, assisting on a Daniel Tkaczuk goal. [18]

Blanchard dressed for the Canadian National Team for 2005 editions of the Loto Cup and the Deutschland Cup. [19] He was again a member of the national team during the 2008 Deutschland Cup, which Canada won, [20] and would again dress for the team in the 2010 edition of the tournament. [21]

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1993–94Valley East CobrasGNML3550175046 
1993–94 Espanola Eagles NOJHL 1500500
1994–95 Ottawa 67's OHL 595055024
1995–96 Ottawa 67'sOHL645029504941347
1996–97 Ottawa 67'sOHL6650575064243151834
1997–98 Ottawa 67'sOHL57505150431406629
1998–99 Springfield Falcons AHL 10501504
1998–99 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 5850245030170884
1999–2000 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL54505502830002
1999–2000 Trenton Titans ECHL2500500
2000–01 Florida Everblades ECHL515025506050222
2000–01 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 10680687
2000–01 Manitoba Moose IHL7690694
2001–02 London Knights BISL 35706701470118
2002–03 London KnightsBISL32711271241886146
2003–04 SV Ritten ITA 427233725832130
2004–05 Ritten SportITA3673197328623512
2005–06 ZSC Lions NLA 47417414
2005–06 GCK Lions NLB 199989950503322
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL13100610012
2006–07 Augusta Lynx ECHL578034808020110
2007–08 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 468722874471236
2008–09 Hamburg Freezers DEL518618867790338
2009–10 Frankfurt Lions DEL558518857141014
2010–11 Nürnberg Ice Tigers DEL528414843820004
2011–12 Iserlohn RoostersDEL259215922210000
2012–13 Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg DEL52911391751201112
2013–14 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 1599109916401116
2014–15Stoney Creek GeneralsACH199913993452358
2015–16Stoney Creek GeneralsACH239920992062689
2016–17Stoney Creek GeneralsACH249928993180996
2017–18Stoney Creek GeneralsACH2199169917906613
2017–18 Stoney Creek Generals AC 9950999951126
2018–19Stoney Creek GeneralsACH219910999970222
2019–20 Brantford Blast ACH189919999970222
ECHL totals168998310617024011116
DEL totals281991001153273526834
ACH totals1419997118162464293358

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1998 Canada WJC78786780

Personal life

Blanchard's cousin is fellow professional hockey player Neal Martin, who also played for the London Knights. [1]

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References

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