Pat Peake

Pat Peake (born 28 May, 1973 in Rochester, Minnesota) is a retired American ice hockey center.

Peake was drafted 14th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Peake played 134 career NHL games, scoring 28 goals and 41 assists for 69 points.

Playing career

Juniors

Peake was an up-and-coming star during his juniors career. Playing in the North American Hockey League in 1989-1990, he scored 33 goals and assisted on 44 goals in just 34 games. In the next season, he moved to the Ontario Hockey League with the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, scoring 90 points (39 goals and 51 assists) in 63 games. The Washington Capitals rewarded him by making him their first-round selection in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Still 18 years old at the time, Peake returned to the Ambassadors for the 1991-1992 season and scored 93 points (41 goals, 52 assists) in 53 games. He also appeared briefly with the United States junior championship team, scoring five goals in seven games, and with the Baltimore Skipjacks of the American Hockey League, recording one goal in three games. The 1992-1993 season would be his last, and most successful, in juniors; he scored 136 points (58 goals and 78 assists) in just 46 games with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings and also had four goals and nine assists in seven games with the United States junior championship team.

NHL

By the 1993–94 season, the Capitals saw fit to promote Peake to the NHL, and he played 51 games with them, scoring 11 goals and 18 assists, with a +1 defensive rating. In the same year, he recorded five assists in four games with Portland, and he played in eight playoff games with the Capitals, recording one assist. In the next season, he was limited to 18 games with the Capitals due to mononucleosis; he had only four points that year (all on assists), plus four points (with one goal) in five games with Portland. The 1995–96 NHL season was his highest-scoring season in the NHL; he scored 17 goals and made 19 assists in 62 games, and had a plus/minus rating of +7. In addition, he made another trip to the playoffs with the Capitals, tallying two goals and one assist in five games.

Injuries and retirement

Peake's career was ended prematurely due to several serious injuries; he shattered his right heel in a playoff game in 1996, causing him to undergo extensive surgeries and costing him 67 games of the 1996–97 NHL season. He returned in time to play three games with the Portland Pirates, afterwards breaking his right hand, and four games with the Capitals, before suffering a concussion in an automobile accident. He remained out for the first 16 games of the 1997–98 NHL season, due to continued pain in his heel. In his lone game with the Capitals in 1997–98, he tore some tendons in his right ankle and never played professionally again. He officially retired from playing professional ice hockey on September 1, 1998.

In a "Where Are They Now?" feature in 2005, the Capitals stated that Peake was working for Newport Sports Management, the agency that represents (as of 2005) 110 NHL players, and that he was coaching two Detroit-area junior hockey teams. In addition, he has played with the Detroit Red Wings' Alumni Team. [http://washingtoncaps.com/display_cont.asp?cont_id=264160#peake]

Peake's performance in the Ontario Hockey League did not go unrecognized, and his former junior team, then known as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, now the Plymouth Whalers, retired his number 14 from circulation. Peake leads the team in all-time scoring, with 319 career points.

External links

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* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/weekly/980202/nhl0202/c.html CNN/SI feature regarding his injuries]