Mario Larocque

Mario Larocque
Born (1978-04-24) April 24, 1978[1]
Montreal, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
team
Former teams
Free Agent
Tampa Bay Lightning
HC TWK Innsbruck
SG Pontebba
Nottingham Panthers
Braehead Clan
NHL Draft 16th overall, 1996
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 1998present

Mario Larocque (born April 24, 1978 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for the Stockton Thunder in the ECHL.

Playing career

Larocque was drafted in the first round, 16th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1996. He managed to play five NHL games for the Lightning during the 1998–99 NHL season, scoring no points with 16 penalty minutes.[2] He spent the rest of that season in the International Hockey League with the Cleveland Lumberjacks before playing two seasons with the Detroit Vipers of the same league. After the IHL folded, he was signed by the Buffalo Sabres but was assigned to the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans and never saw any ice time with the Sabres.[1]

He spent the next five seasons in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers and the United Hockey League with the Danbury Trashers and the Fort Wayne Komets, along with brief spells in the AHL for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 2007, he joined Austrian team HC TWK Innsbruck and in September 2008 he signed with Sport Ghiaccio Pontebba. He then joined the EC Red Bull Salzburg on December 1, 2008, and later signed with the Nottingham Panthers on November 5, 2009.[3]

Larocque signed with the Muskegon Lumberjacks on February 12, 2010. Larocque joined the Evansville IceMen in October 2010, after the team relocated from Muskegon, for his 13th pro season and first full campaign under Head Coach Rich Kromm after finishing last season with Kromm in Muskegon.[3]

On January 15, 2014, Larocque opted for another venture abroad signing for the remainder of the season with the Braehead Clan of the EIHL.[4]

Legacy

The 1996 NHL Entry Draft has been viewed as one of the weakest draft classes in NHL history. Larocque was one of nine players from this class that played less than 100 NHL games, having only played five career NHL games during his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

References

  1. 1 2 Podnieks, p. 477
  2. "Mario Larocque". hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "IceMen Add 3 Star "Double-A" Players". evansvilleicemen.com. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  4. "Clan add Larocque ahead of fife game". Braehead Clan. 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Daymond Langkow
Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick
1996
Succeeded by
Paul Mara
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