Lee Sweatt

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Lee Sweatt
TPS
in January 2008
Born (1985-08-13) August 13, 1985 (age 38)
Elburn, Illinois, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position
Defense
Shot Right
Played for
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007–2011

Walter Lee Sweatt (born August 13, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Sweatt played four years of professional hockey in Europe and North America. Sweatt played three games in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2011, before retiring to work in the financial industry. His younger brother, Bill, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

After a one-year stint with the Junior A Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), Sweatt played four seasons in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) with the Colorado College Tigers. During his senior year with Colorado, he served as team captain and received All-WCHA Third Team honors. Graduating with a degree in mathematical economics, he was named the WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year in 2007.

Undrafted by an NHL team, Sweatt played in Europe for four seasons with

Austrian Hockey League. After winning the Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the SM-liiga's best defenseman and the Kanada-malja as league champions with TPS in 2010, he returned to North America, signing with the Vancouver Canucks. He played the subsequent season with the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose
, while also debuting in the NHL with the Canucks. In July 2011, he signed with the Senators.

Sweatt has also played

2008 tournament, he earned the Best Defenseman award. He has also played for the United States national select team on two occasions, once in 2007 and another at the 2009 Deutschland Cup
.

Playing career

Sweatt played

college ranks for the Colorado College Tigers. He recorded 16 points over 37 games as a freshman in 2003–04. The following season, he improved to a college career-high 27 points while helping Colorado to a MacNaughton Cup as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champions (shared with the Denver Pioneers). Serving as team captain in his senior year,[1] he scored a career-high 9 goals, while adding 15 assists for 24 points. In addition to being his team's leading defenseman in scoring,[2] Sweatt was named to the All-WCHA Third Team.[1]

He joined the

2006-07 AHL season, he registered 1 assist. Also in 2007, Sweatt debuted with the United States' national select team in international competition.[4]

TPS
.

Undrafted and unsigned by an NHL team, Sweatt joined Finnish club

Austrian Hockey League, Sweatt scored 36 points over 52 games, second among team defensemen to Mario Scalzo.[6]

In the off-season, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with Latvian club

2009–10 season, recording 7 points in 37 games.[8] Sweatt returned to TPS on January 18, 2010, and completed the regular season with 16 points in 21 SM-liiga games. In the playoffs, he added 13 points over 15 games, helping TPS win the Kanada-malja as league champions.[9] For his efforts, he was named to the SM-liiga All-Star Team and also won the Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the league's best defenseman.[9]

Returning to North America, Sweatt signed a one-year contract with the

injured reserve list (injured players are not eligible to be sent down to the minors).[17][18] Unable to skate on his injured foot until mid-June, Sweatt was sidelined for the remainder of the season.[16]

Set to become a

unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2011.[19] Ten days into his free agency, he signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators.[20] However, on August 12, 2011, Sweatt retired prior to playing for the Senators organization.[21]

Inline hockey

Sweatt began playing

Germany
in the bronze medal game.

Playing style

Sweatt is known as an offensive defenseman, possessing a good shot and a tendency to join plays deep in the opposing zone. He has played the role of

powerplay "quarterback" on teams throughout his career – controlling the play by either passing or shooting the puck.[13] Defensively, he is known to play aggressively, hitting opposing players.[13][26] Due to his offensive capabilities at a comparatively small size for a defenseman at 5 feet and 9 inches, he has been compared to former NHL player Brian Rafalski.[26]

Personal life

Sweatt was born in Elburn, Illinois, a village west of Chicago. He played minor hockey with his younger brother Bill Sweatt, in Highland Park, Illinois. In addition to hockey, Sweatt played football as a child, following after his father.[13]

While enrolled at the

grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 while majoring in mathematical economics, qualifying for the WCHA All-Academic Team as a sophomore, junior and senior hockey player (freshmen are not eligible for the distinction).[27] In his junior year, he was honored as a co-recipient of the Paul Markovich Award as the Colorado College Tigers' top student-athlete.[3] He also received WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year honors after graduating with a 3.8 GPA in 2007.[1]

In an interview with CBC Sports, Sweatt explained the reason for his retirement. Sweatt intends to work as a financial advisor and expects to make more money than if he were playing in the AHL. "I didn't need to prove myself all over again. I didn't want to be a bubble guy again. I didn't want to be the guy in the still living the dream at age 30 and sacrificing my goals outside the game."[28]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   
Regular season
  Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Chicago Steel USHL 58 6 9 15 25
2003–04 Colorado College WCHA 37 4 12 16 20
2004–05 Colorado College WCHA 41 3 24 27 34
2005–06 Colorado College WCHA 41 5 16 21 36
2006–07 Colorado College WCHA 37 9 15 24 51
2006–07 San Antonio Rampage AHL 11 0 1 1 8
2007–08
TPS
SM-l
56 15 18 33 42 2 0 0 0 2
2008–09 EC Red Bull Salzburg
EBEL
52 10 26 36 99 12 2 4 6 14
2009–10 Dinamo Riga KHL 37 2 5 7 18
2009–10 TPS SM-l 21 9 7 16 8 15 7 6 13 8
2010–11 Manitoba Moose AHL 41 5 9 14 18
2010–11 Vancouver Canucks NHL 3 1 1 2 2
SM-l totals 93 24 25 49 50 17 7 6 13 10
KHL totals 37 2 5 7 18
NHL totals 3 1 1 2 2

International (InLine)

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2008
United States
InLine WC
6 4 4 8 1.5
Int'l InLine totals 6 4 4 8 1.5

Awards

Award Year
All-WCHA Academic Team 2005, 2006, 2007[27]
WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year 2007[1]
All-WCHA
Third Team
2007[1]
IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship
Best Defenseman
2008[24]
TPS
)
2010[9]
Pekka Rautakallio trophy (SM-liiga best defenseman) 2010[9]
SM-liiga All-Star Team 2010[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Duncan named WCHA player of the year". College Hockey News. 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  2. ^ "2006-07 Colorado College (WCHA)". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  3. ^ a b "Rampage sign Lee Sweatt to amateur tryout". OurSports Central. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  4. ^ a b c d "Deutschland Cup roster announced". USA Hockey. 2009-10-20. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  5. ^ "2007-08 TPS Turku (SM-liiga)". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  6. ^ "2008-09 Salzburg EC (Austria)". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  7. ^ "Dinamo Riga agrees to contract with Lee Sweatt" (in Latvian). Dinamo Riga. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  8. TPS
    . 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Lee Sweatt". Elite Hockey Prospects. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  10. ^ "Canucks sign defencemen Yann Sauve, Lee Sweatt, and Chris Tanev". Vancouver Canucks. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  11. ^ "Canucks sign forward Bill Sweatt". Vancouver Canucks. 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  12. ^ "Canucks reduce preseason roster by five players". Canucks.com. 2010-10-03. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
  13. ^ a b c d "The sweet smell of the Sweatts". Manitoba Moose. 2010-10-14. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  14. ^ Vancouver Canucks (2011-01-23). "Canucks recall Lee Sweatt". Canucks.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  15. ^ "Canucks 2, Predators 1". Vancouver Canucks. 2011-01-26. Archived from the original on 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  16. ^ a b Botchford, Jason (2011-07-27). "Don't Sweatt the move to Senators". The Province. Vancouver: Postmedia News. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  17. ^ "Canucks void re-assignment of Sweatt". Vancouver Canucks. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  18. ^ "Sweatt goes on Canucks' injured list". Winnipeg Free Press. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  19. The Vancouver Sun
    . Postmedia News. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  20. ^ "Senators Sign Defenceman Lee Sweatt to a One-Year Contract". OurSports Central. 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  21. ^ O'Brien, James (2011-08-12). "Despite signing two-way contract with Senators, Lee Sweatt decides to retire". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  22. ^ "90 seconds with...Lee Seatt". IIHF. 2008-06-28. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  23. ^ "IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship - All Medalists". IIHF. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  24. ^ a b "And the InLine gold goes to...Sweden". IIHF. 2008-06-28. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  25. ^ "Defensemen Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  26. ^ a b "Ballard lets play do talking, Sweatt eager to make big impression". The Province. 2011-01-23. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
  27. ^ a b "89 Student-Athletes Earn All-WCHA Academic Team Honors for 2004–05 Season". CBS College Sports. 2005-04-26. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  28. ^ Wharnsby, Tim (September 21, 2011). "The curious case of Lee Sweatt". CBC. Retrieved September 21, 2011.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Pekka Rautakallio trophy
(SM-liiga's best defenseman)

2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year
2006–07
Succeeded by