Eric Dayton Prentice (August 22, 1926 — December 8, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played a total of 5 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1943–44 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1943 to 1950, was spent in different minor leagues. Prentice holds the record for the youngest player signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs - he was 17.[1] His brother Dean had a long career in the NHL, mainly with the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings.

Eric Prentice
Born (1926-08-22)August 22, 1926
Schumacher, Ontario, Canada
Died December 8, 2002(2002-12-08) (aged 76)
Coleman, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1943–1950

Career

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Prentice played the 1942–43 season with the Timmins Buffalo Ankerites in the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League. He then spent the 1943–44 season playing with Providence-Hershey in the American Hockey League.[2] He made his only appearance in the NHL when he played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. During those five games, he failed to record a point and spent 4 minutes in the penalty box.[2] In 1944–45, he played with the Pittsburgh Hornets in the American Hockey League. He then split the 1945–46 season between the Omaha Knights in the United States Hockey League and the Hollywood Wolves in the Pacific Coast Hockey League. He went back to the Wolves in 1946–47. Next, he played for the Fresno Falcons in 1947–48, then spent 1948–49 with the Philadelphia Rockets before ending his professional career in 1949–50 in Oakland-LA-Fresno in the PCHL.[2]

Post-hockey

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Prentice was the father of former Premier of Alberta Jim Prentice. Prentice died on December 8, 2002, in Coleman, Alberta from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[3]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1942–43 Timmins Buffalo Ankerites TBSHL
1943–44 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 0 0 0 4
1943–44 Providence Reds AHL 7 0 1 1 2
1943–44 Hershey Bears AHL 6 3 2 5 12 7 2 0 2 0
1944–45 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 33 9 7 16 10
1945–46 Omaha Knights USHL 3 0 2 2 2
1945–46 Hollywood Wolves PCHL 21 6 6 12 19 12 4 9 13 12
1946–47 Hollywood Wolves PCHL 60 18 22 40 12 7 2 3 5 6
1947–48 Fresno Falcons PCHL 62 18 12 30 58 6 1 2 3 9
1948–49 Philadelphia Rockets AHL 63 22 24 46 10
1949–50 Fresno Falcons PCHL 65 20 16 36 22
PCHL totals 208 62 56 118 111 25 7 14 21 27
NHL totals 5 0 0 0 4

References

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  1. ^ Finesse player keeps his eye on the puck:: [Final Edition] Reid, Mark. Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta] May 30, 2003: page A6.
  2. ^ a b c "Eric Dayton Prentice". Legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
  3. ^ "Prentice gets a surprise home-coming present — a photo of dad in Leafs attire | Calgary Herald". April 9, 2015.
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