Eric Belanger
Eric Belanger was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and was drafted in the fourth round, 96th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Before making his NHL debut, he played with the Beauport Harfangs and Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Fredericton Canadiens, Springfield Falcons and Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League and the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League. Belanger had his best season in the minors with the Harfangs in 1995-1996, as he scored 83 points in 59 games. He also put on a wonderful playoff performance that year, netting 27 points in 20 playoff games with the club. Belanger finally debuted in the NHL in the 2000 season. Belanger always put up modest numbers with the Los Angeles Kings and was mostly used in a defensive forward role. He is a talented player and showed some of that talent on the Kings, but he seemed more content to play as a solid two-way forward than anything else. Belanger is also somewhat prone to injury. Belanger was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in September of 2006. In February of 2007, he was traded to the Nashville Predators and then sent to the Atlanta Thrashers on the following day. Despite being moved around a lot, Belanger played his best hockey in the 2006-2007 season, putting up 55 total points in 80 split between Carolina and Atlanta. During the free agency signing period of 2007, Belanger was picked up by the Minnesota Wild. He'll be a valuable addition to their team and will fit right in with their two-way style.
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