Minnesota Wild's Eric Belanger and His Hockey Career

Eric Belanger was drafted to the NHL more than ten years ago and has had quite a hockey career. Eric Belanger was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec in Canada on December 16, 1977, making him thirty-one years old. Eric Belanger is 6 feet tall and weighs 185 pounds and plays center. Belanger's hockey career begins in the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) in 1994. The QMJHL is one of the three leagues that makes up the CHL (Canadian Hockey League), which is the most competitive hockey league in the country. Eric Belanger played with the Beauport Harfangs during the 1994-1995 season, his first season in the QMJHL.

Eric Belanger was drafted in 1996 by the Los Angeles Kings, 96th overall. Despite being drafted, Eric Belanger remained with the Beauport Harfangs in the QMJHL until the 1996-1997 when he moved on to another QMJHL team, the Rimousky Oceanic and spent about half the season with each team. The following 1997-1998 season, Belanger went to play in the AHL (American Hockey League) for the Fredericton Canadiens. For the 1998-1999 season, Eric Belanger started off the season in the IHL (International Hockey League) with the Long Beach Ice Dogs. The IHL was a league that was supposed to serve the same purpose of the AHL, a developmental league and farm teams for the NHL, but the league came to an end in 2001. Belanger finished out the 1998-1999 season back in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons. For the 1999-2000, Belanger was moved to yet another team in the AHL, the Lowell Lock Monsters.

At the start of the 2000-2001 season, Eric Belanger was still playing with the Lowell Lock Monsters, but was called up by the Los Angeles Kings early in the season. After being called up, he never returned the AHL. Belanger played with the Los Angeles Kings for the 2001-2002, 2002-2003, and 2003-2004 seasons. During the 2004-2005 NHL Lockout, Eric Belanger played for the HC Bolzano in the ITL, the professional league in Italy. He returned to the Los Angeles Kings when the lockout was over for the 2005-2006 season.

After the 2005-2006 season with the Los Angeles Kings, Eric Belanger was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2006-2007 season. Eric Belanger played the majority of the season with the Carolina Hurricanes, but was traded to the Nashville Predators in February. The day after he was traded to the Nashville Predators, the Predators traded him to the Atlanta Thrashers, where he finished out the rest of the 2006-2007 season. For the 2007-2008, Eric Belanger signed for three years with the Minnesota Wild, where he remains.

ref-www.nhl.com