Lee Sorochan

Lee Sorochan (born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman. He played three games in the NHL as well in the minor leagues, and across Europe.

Lee Sorochan
Born (1975-09-09) September 9, 1975
Edmonton, AB, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Defenceman
Shot Left
Played for Calgary Flames
London Knights
Jokerit
Eisbären Berlin
Belfast Giants
NHL Draft 34th overall, 1993
New York Rangers
Playing career 1995–2004

Playing career

Sorochan began his major junior career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL in 1991, having previously played for the Sherwood Park Kings of the AMBHL.[1] Following the 1992-93 season in which he scored 40 points in 69 games Sorochan was selected 34th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Midway through the 1994-95 season, Sorochan was traded along with wingers Dmitiri Markovsky & Mark Szoke to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for wingers Kirby Law, Steve Roberts and defenceman Mike O'Grady.[2] He would finish the season with the Blades, and subsequently turn professional.

Sorochan turned pro following the culmination of the 1994-95 WHL playoffs, playing for the Binghamton Rangers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, in the AHL playoffs ultimately losing to the Cornwall Aces.[3] He made his regular season debut with Binghamton during the 1995-96 season, playing 45 games and scoring 10 points.[1] His third season in Binghamton saw an increase in scoring, with Sorochan tallying 31 points in 77 games. In the off-season, the New York Rangers relocated their farm team to Connecticut, and renamed the team the Hartford Wolf Pack. Sorochan remained with the team, and registered 18 points in 73 games during the1997-98 season.[1]

The following season, Sorochan split time between the Wolf Pack and IHL side Fort Wayne Komets. On March 23, 1999 Sorochan was traded by the Rangers to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenceman Chris O'Sullivan. He would go on to make his NHL debut for the Flames four days later against the Phoenix Coyotes. He would play for the Flames again the following day against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.[4] Sorochan would finish the season with the Flames farm team the Saint John Flames.[1] He returned to Saint John for 1999-00 season where he had a career year, scoring 41 points in 60 games. He was also called up to Calgary one more time, playing one game against the Nashville Predators.[4]

Sorochan moved to the Europe for the 2000-01 season in order to play for reigning British champions the London Knights of the BISL.[5] He would only play 8 games for the Knights however, as Finnish team Jokerit offered him a contract in December.[6][7] His time in Helsinki didn't get off to a good start however, as, during the Spengler Cup, he aggravated a persistent back injury and as a result was sidelined until the end of January, 2001.[8] Sorochan failed to register a single point in 16 games, whilst the team finished top of the table, but ultimately lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Kärpät. For the 2001–02 season, Sorochan moved to Germany to play for Eisbären Berlin of the DEL. In December, he collided with team mate Boris Blank during practice and damaged a ligament in his knee, resulting in him being out of the line up for several weeks.[9]

Sorochan returned to the UK for the 2002-03 season, playing for the Belfast Giants. During his time in Northern Ireland he scored 16 points in 31 games, but suffered an eye injury which resulted in him missing the playoff finals,[10] which the Giants won, beating the London Knights 5-3 in the final. He returned to North America for the 2003-04 season, playing for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the ECHL for whom he played 63 games and tallied 21 points. Subsequently, Kolesar retired from professional hockey.

International

Sorochan was a member of the gold medal winning Canadian team at the 1995 World Junior Hockey Championships.[11]

Transactions

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 Sherwood Park Flyers Bantam AAA AMBHL 3410172746 —————
1991–92 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 672911155 50226
1992–93 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 6983240208 401112
1993–94 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 4652732123 943716
1994–95 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 294151993 —————
1994–95 Saskatoon Blades WHL 245131863 1036934
1994–95 Binghamton Rangers AHL ————— 800011
1995–96 Binghamton Rangers AHL 45281026 10000
1996–97 Binghamton Rangers AHL 7742731160 402218
1997–98 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 7371118197 1302251
1998–99 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 4501010204 —————
1998–99 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 1602233 —————
1998–99 Calgary Flames NHL 20000 —————
1998–99 Saint John Flames AHL 31344 733629
1999–00 Calgary Flames NHL 10000 —————
1999–00 Saint John Flames AHL 6043741124 321312
2000–01 London Knights BISL 813448 —————
2000–01 Jokerit Liiga 1600018 —————
2001–02 Eisbären Berlin DEL 4806688 402218
2002–03 Belfast Giants BISL 312121499 1212349
2003–04 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 6331821137 —————
NHL totals 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
AHL totals 274 18 88 106 544 36 5 8 13 121

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Canada WJC 7 0 1 1 6
INT totals 7 0 1 1 6

References
  1. "Lee Sorochan". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. "On Paper, Americans Looking Better". The Spokesman-Review. February 1, 1995. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  3. "Binghamton Rangers Parent Team affiliate history". HockeyDB. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  4. "Lee Sorochan Stats and News". NHL. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  5. "New signing for Knights". London Knights. October 18, 2000. Archived from the original on 2001-03-06. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  6. "Giants complete line-up". BBC. August 15, 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  7. "Knights announced new signing". London Knights. December 22, 2000. Archived from the original on 2001-03-06. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  8. "Lee Sorochan palaa Jokereiden kokoonpanoon" (in Finnish). Jatkoaika.com. January 21, 2001. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  9. "Jetzt auch Sorochan bei den Eisbären verletzt" (in German). Eishockey.info. December 13, 2001. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  10. "Ice Hockey: Paul ferguson's Icebreakers". Belfast Telegraph. July 4, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  11. "Where are they now? The '95 Canadian 'Dream Team'". CTV Edmonton. December 24, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  12. "Rangers Face Questions As Samuelsson Departs". The New York Times. March 24, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
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