Mark Eaton
Mark Eaton was never drafted into the NHL. The Wilmington, Delaware native spent two seasons (1995-1997) in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks, where he won the Curt Hammer Award as the league’s most gentlemanly player and was named to the USHL Second All-Star Team. He then played one season in the CCHA with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year. He signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers and spent the 1998-99 season with their AHL team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, where he won the Barry Ashbee Award as the team’s top defenseman. He played 27 games with the Flyers during the 1999-00 season, including his NHL debut on October 2nd against the Ottawa Senators. Also that season, he scored his first NHL goal, the game-winner, on April 8th against the Boston Bruins. He was then traded in September 2000 to the Nashville Predators for a third round draft pick. During his fifth NHL season in 2003-04, he produced career-highs in games played (75), goals (4), assists (9), points (13) and plus/minus rating (+16). He then spent the 2004-05 lockout season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. After playing one more season with the Predators, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a two-year contract in July 2006. He again signed another two-year contract with the Penguins in July 2008 and helped them win the Stanley Cup that following season (2008-09). In international hockey, he represented the United States at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships. At 6’2 and around 205 pounds, Eaton is a defensive defenseman who is great at blocking shots. His overall plus/minus rating is very good; however, he isn’t a big point producer.
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