Patrick Traverse

Patrick Traverse (born March 14, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 279 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with five teams including the Ottawa Senators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Dallas Stars. He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the third round, 50th overall, in the 1992 NHL entry draft and joined the organization in 1993. In 2009, he left North America to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany with the DEG Metro Stars and Hamburg Freezers. He played internationally for Canada at the 2000 World Championship.

Patrick Traverse (born March 14, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 279 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with five teams including the Ottawa Senators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Dallas Stars. He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the third round, 50th overall, in the 1992 NHL entry draft and joined the organization in 1993. In 2009, he left North America to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany with the DEG Metro Stars and Hamburg Freezers. He played internationally for Canada at the 2000 World Championship.

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Traverse played in the 1988 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. He played with the Montreal-Bourassa Canadiens, a AAA minor hockey team, in 1990–91, earning the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence, which celebrates the combination of academic excellence and sports. Traverse was selected by the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in the 1991 QMJHL entry draft in the first round, fourth overall. He joined the Cataractes for the 1991–92 season and recorded three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 59 games. The Cataractes qualified for the playoffs and advanced to the division finals where they were eliminated. Traverse appeared in ten playoff games, going scoreless. He returned to Shawinigan for the 1992–93 season marking five goals and 29 points in 53 games. He was considered an imposing, physical defenceman, with a good first pass out of the defensive zone. Ahead of the 1993 playoffs, Traverse and two other players were traded to the Saint-Jean Lynx on February 17, 1993. Traverse made 15 regular season appearances for the Lynx, scoring one goal and seven points. In the playoffs, Traverse recorded one assist in four playoff games as the Lynx were swept in four games by the Hull Olympiques in the first round. In his first full season with Saint-Jean in 1993–94, Traverse marked 15 goals and 52 points in 66 games. The team qualified for the playoffs and faced the Sherbrooke Faucons in the first round. The Lynx were eliminated and Traverse made five playoff appearances, recording four assists.

Professional

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Boston Bruins

On June 12, 2000, Traverse was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for defenceman Joel Kwiatkowski. A restricted free agent, he and the Mighty Ducks could not agree on a contract and went to salary arbitration, where he was awarded a one-year contract worth $550,000. He made his Anaheim debut in the opening game of the 2000–01 season against the Minnesota Wild on the second defence pairing with Vitaly Vishnevskiy. He recorded his first goal and point for the Mighty Ducks on October 17 on John Vanbiesbrouck in a 4–3 victory over the New York Islanders. However, Traverse fell out of favour with coach Craig Hartsburg by the beginning of November and was often scratched from the lineup. In 15 games with Anaheim, he recorded just the one goal. Traverse was traded to the Boston Bruins on November 18, along with winger Andrei Nazarov for forward Samuel Påhlsson. He made his Bruins debut on November 21 in a 2–1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. He scored his first goal and point for his new team in the following game on November 22, the game-winning goal on goaltender Chris Osgood in a 5–4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Traverse made 37 appearances for the Bruins, tallying two goals and eight points.

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens acquired Traverse in exchange for defenceman Eric Weinrich on February 21, 2001. It marked the first time the two teams had traded with each other since 1964. He made his debut for his third team of the season in a 3–1 loss to the Washington Capitals on February 23. Traverse picked up his first point for the Canadiens assisting on Jim Campbell's goal in the second period of a 4–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 28. He marked his first goal for Montreal on March 3 on goaltender Brian Boucher, in a two-point effort in a 3–1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. In 19 games with Montreal, Traverse tallied two goals and five points. In May, he signed a three-year contract with Montreal. Traverse began the 2001–02 season as one of the Canadiens' top six defencemen. However, he was soon scratched by coach Michel Therrien and replaced by other defencemen, among them rookie Martti Järventie. Shortly after re-entering the lineup in late October and seeing some time playing as a forward on the fourth line, Traverse suffered sprained knee ligaments in early November. He returned from his injury in early December after missing 12 games, but was sent to Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Quebec Citadelles for a conditioning loan. He made four appearances for Quebec, tallying two assists. He was recalled on December 10, and played in a 4–0 win over the Minnesota Wild that night. On January 10, 2002, Traverse suffered a concussion after taking a clean bodycheck from Michael Peca of the New York Islanders. He was knocked unconscious and remained on the ice for 15 minutes until removed via stretcher and taken to the hospital. He recovered and was cleared to play on February 5, but only returned to the ice on February 11 after missing 13 games. He finished the season with two and five points in 23 games. Ahead of the 2002–03 season, Traverse was among the Montreal defencemen made available by the team for selection in the waiver draft, but was not selected. He started the season as a healthy scratch, but soon swapped places with struggling rookie Ron Hainsey. He re-established himself in the lineup and was paired with Patrice Brisebois, as the defencemen ahead of him on the depth chart, such as Hainsey, Francis Bouillon, and Stéphane Robidas, were all assigned to the AHL or traded away. As players came off the injured list though, Traverse's play time began to be cut and by March 2003, the Canadiens had eight defencemen available and Traverse was scratched for multiple games. He played in 65 games for Montreal, recording 13 assists. Towards the end of the season as their playoffs aspirations faded, Montreal had begun a youth movement and Traverse was among those being displaced by the incoming players. He was left unprotected in the waiver draft ahead of the season and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Montreal's new AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2003–04 season. He spent the entire season with Hamilton, appearing in 80 games, scoring five goals and 26 points. The Bulldogs finished first in their division and qualified for the playoffs, advancing to the third round where they were eliminated by the Rochester Americans. Traverse appeared in ten playoff games, tallying one goal and three points.

Dallas Stars and AHL

An unrestricted free agent at season's end, Traverse signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars in the 2004 offseason. Then, on September 25, 2004, he signed a new contract with the Houston Aeros of the AHL. With the NHL going through a labour disagreement, Traverse spent the entire 2004–05 season with Houston, scoring six goals and 15 points in 72 games. The Aeros qualified for the playoffs and were eliminated by the Chicago Wolves in the opening round. In five playoff games, Traverse went scoreless. Traverse was once again an unrestricted free agent in the 2005 offseason. He re-signed with Dallas to a one-year contract in August. He attended Dallas' training camp but did not make the team and was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Stars, to start the 2005–06 season. He suffered a lower body injury in late November, while tied for the lead in scoring on the team. He returned to Iowa's lineup on January 5, 2006 after missing 16 games. He was recalled by Dallas on January 24 after defencemen Janne Niinimaa was questionable for the next game and Trevor Daley was out with the flu. He made his Dallas debut on January 25 against the St. Louis Blues, going scoreless. He suffered an ankle injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve by Dallas on January 30. He was returned to Iowa in March and returned to their lineup on March 17. He finished the season appearing 40 games for Iowa, scoring three goals and 21 points. Iowa made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Milwaukee Admirals. Traverse had one goal and three points in seven playoff games. An unrestricted free agent in the 2006 offseason, he signed with the San Jose Sharks in July. He was placed on waivers by San Jose during training camp in September. The Montreal Canadiens claimed him after injuries to Francis Bouillon and Sheldon Souray eliminated their depth and their rookies did not impress in camp. However, his time with Montreal was short lived as the Canadiens then traded for Janne Niinimaa, and Traverse was placed on waivers again, with the intention of sending him to Hamilton of the AHL. He went unclaimed and made 26 appearances for the Bulldogs, tallying one goal and five points. He was traded back to the San Jose Sharks on December 15, in exchange for defenceman Mathieu Biron. The Sharks immediately assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks. He played in 54 games with Worcester, scoring five goals and 22 points. Worcester finished fourth in their division, but made the playoffs and were knocked out in the first round by the Manchester Monarchs. Traverse recorded two assists in six playoff games. Traverse re-signed with Worcester in July 2007. He appeared in 65 games for Worcester in the 2007–08 season, scoring six goals and 25 points. He attended San Jose's training camp in September 2008, but was returned to Worcester for the 2008–09 season. He played in 78 games for Worcester, scoring nine goals and 42 points. Worcester finished fourth in their division and qualified for the playoffs. They advanced to the second round were they were eliminated by the Providence Bruins. Traverse scored four goals and nine points in 12 playoff games.

Europe

Traverse headed overseas and signed for the DEG Metro Stars of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on July 10, 2009. In 53 games with the Metro Stars in the 2009–10 season, he marked three goals and 32 points. DEG made the playoffs and Traverse added four assists in three playoff games. He signed with rival Hamburg Freezers to a one-year contract on March 19, 2010. He recorded eight goals and 26 points in 52 games with Hamburg during the 2010–11 season. He returned for a final season in 2011–12, making 51 appearances and scoring seven goals and 15 points. Hamburg qualified for the playoffs and in five playoff games, Traverse recorded one goal and two points.

International play

Traverse was invited to play for Team Canada at the 2000 World Championships in May 2000. Traverse made eight appearances at the tournament, recording one goal, in a shock loss to Norway on May 1. The Canadians advanced to the semifinals, which they lost to the Czech Republic, forcing them to play for the bronze medal against Finland, which they lost too, to finish fourth.

Personal life

Traverse is married.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

Sources

External links

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1366302603 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.