Sean Blanchard

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.

Sean Blanchard
Born (1978-03-29) March 29, 1978
Sudbury, ON, CAN
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
Hamburg Freezers
Frankfurt Lions
Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg
Stoney Creek Generals
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 99th overall, 1997
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1998–present

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 wwould 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.

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, Blacnhard 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 Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Valley East Cobras GNML 35 15 17 32 46 — — — — —
1993–94 Espanola Eagles NOJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1994–95 Ottawa 67's OHL 59 2 5 7 24 — — — — —
1995–96 Ottawa 67's OHL 64 7 29 36 49 4 1 3 4 7
1996–97 Ottawa 67's OHL 66 11 57 68 64 24 3 15 18 34
1997–98 Ottawa 67's OHL 57 13 51 64 43 14 0 6 6 29
1998–99 Springfield Falcons AHL 10 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
1998–99 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 58 5 24 29 30 17 0 8 8 4
1999–2000 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 54 1 5 6 28 3 0 0 0 2
1999–2000 Trenton Titans ECHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2000–01 Florida Everblades ECHL 51 5 25 30 60 5 0 2 2 2
2000–01 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 10 0 0 0 7 — — — — —
2000–01 Manitoba Moose IHL 7 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2001–02 London Knights BISL 35 6 6 12 14 7 0 1 1 8
2002–03 London Knights BISL 32 5 12 17 24 18 8 6 14 6
2003–04 SV Ritten ITA 42 16 33 49 58 3 2 1 3 0
2004–05 Ritten Sport ITA 36 5 19 24 28 6 2 3 5 12
2005–06 ZSC Lions NLA 4 0 1 1 14 — — — — —
2005–06 GCK Lions NLB 19 4 8 12 50 5 0 3 3 22
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 13 3 6 9 12 — — — — —
2006–07 Augusta Lynx ECHL 57 13 34 47 80 2 0 1 1 0
2007–08 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 46 2 22 24 44 7 1 2 3 6
2008–09 Hamburg Freezers DEL 51 2 18 20 77 9 0 3 3 8
2009–10 Frankfurt Lions DEL 55 4 18 22 71 4 1 0 1 4
2010–11 Nürnberg Ice Tigers DEL 52 5 14 19 38 2 0 0 0 4
2011–12 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 25 2 15 17 22 1 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg DEL 52 0 13 13 75 12 0 1 1 12
2013–14 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 15 3 10 13 16 4 0 1 1 16
2014–15 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 19 5 13 18 34 5 2 3 5 8
2015–16 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 23 2 20 22 20 6 2 6 8 9
2016–17 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 24 2 28 30 31 8 0 9 9 6
2017–18 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 21 4 16 20 17 9 0 6 6 13
2017–18 Stoney Creek Generals AC — — — — — 5 1 1 2 6
2018–19 Stoney Creek Generals ACH 21 2 4 6 22 7 0 2 2 2
2019–20 Brantford Blast ACH 18 3 6 9 22 7 0 2 2 2
ECHL totals 168 23 83 106 170 24 0 11 11 6
DEL totals 281 15 100 115 327 35 2 6 8 34
ACH totals 141 21 97 118 162 46 4 29 33 58

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Canada WJC 7 0 2 2 —

Personal life

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

References
  1. "Sean Blanchard - EliteProspect". Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  2. "OHL Awards". OHL. Retrieved July 14, 2020.,
  3. "CHL Awards". CHL. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  4. "1997 NHL Draft". NHL. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  5. "Los Angeles Kings Minor League Affiliate History". HockeyDB. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. "The Sea Wolves are long gone, but that magic night in 1999 lives on". Sun Herald. June 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  7. "London Knights - Sean Blanchard". London Knights. c. 2003. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. "Eagles forced out". BBC. November 14, 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  9. "Elite League "will go ahead"". BBC. May 31, 2003. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. "ECHL Second All-Star Team". Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. "Max Kaminsky Winning Ottawa 67 Back With Frankfurt Lions For 2010-11". OHL Alumni Central. June 17, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  12. "Stoney Creek Generals". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  13. "Stoney Creek Generals take 110th Allan Cup". Hockey Canada. April 15, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  14. "Blast are back in Brantford". Brantford Expositor. August 23, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  15. "Coronavirus scuttles local hockey seasons". Brantford Expositor. March 12, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  16. "London Knights - Where are they now?". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  17. "41 Players Invited to National Junior Team Camp". Hockey Canada. June 16, 1997. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  18. "Game Summary". Hockey Canada. December 31, 1997. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  19. "Game Summary" (in Slovak). Spravy.sk. December 9, 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  20. "Canada's National Men's Team Wins 2008 Deutschland Cup". Hockey Canada. November 9, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  21. "Blanchard und Kemp spielen für Kanada" (in German). Nürnberger Nachrichten. November 10, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
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