Monsters Ink Veteran NHL Defensemen Steve Eminger to PTO Contract

CLEVELAND – In advance of a home clash vs. the Milwaukee Admirals at The Q on Friday, Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters signed longtime NHL defenseman Steve Eminger to a 25-game Professional Tryout Contract (PTO), the team announced Thursday. Selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2002 NHL Draft with the 12th overall pick, Eminger posted four goals, 23 points, 60 penalty minutes and a +2 rating in 62 appearances for the AHL’s Providence Bruins last season and will wear number 23 for the Monsters.

A 6’2”, 207 lb. right-handed native of Woodbridge, ON, Eminger, 32, posted 19 goals, 99 points and 359 penalty minutes in 488 career NHL appearances for Washington, the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers spanning parts of ten seasons from 2002 to 2013.

In parts of five AHL seasons from 2003 to 2015, Eminger contributed 11 goals, 55 points and 164 penalty minutes in 202 combined appearances for Providence, the Portland Pirates, Connecticut Whale and Norfolk Admirals. Eminger also logged 25 appearances for the KHL club CSKA Moskva during the 2013-14 season, posting two assists and ten penalty minutes along the way.

Prior to his professional career, Eminger accumulated 191 career OHL appearances for the Kitchener Rangers and supplied 29 goals, 135 points, 273 penalty minutes and a +17 rating in parts of four seasons from 1999 to 2003.