Editing Robert Esche

{{Short description|American ice hockey player (born 1978)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| position = [[Goaltender]]
| catches = Left
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 225
| ntl_team = United States
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|1|22}}
| birth_place = [[Whitesboro, New York]], U.S.
| career_start = 1998
| career_end = 2012
| draft = 139th overall
| draft_year = 1996
| draft_team = [[Phoenix Coyotes]]
| image = Robert Esche 2018.jpg
| caption = Esche in 2018
| played_for = [[Arizona Coyotes|Phoenix Coyotes]] <br>[[Philadelphia Flyers]]<br>[[Ak Bars Kazan]]<br>[[SKA Saint Petersburg]]<br>[[HC Dinamo Minsk|Dinamo Minsk]]<br>[[SCL Tigers]]
}}

'''Robert L. Esche''' (born January 22, 1978) is an American former professional [[ice hockey]] [[goaltender]] who is the current president of the [[Utica Comets]] of the [[American Hockey League]] (AHL) and the [[Utica City FC]] of the [[Major Arena Soccer League]] (MASL). He previously played eight seasons in the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) for the [[Arizona Coyotes|Phoenix Coyotes]] and [[Philadelphia Flyers]].

==Playing career==
Esche started his career with the [[Arizona Coyotes|Phoenix Coyotes]], only to be traded to the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] in a deal involving [[Michal Handzuš]] and [[Brian Boucher]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flyers Acquire Center Michal Handzus and goaltender Robert Esche from Phoenix for Brian Boucher |url=http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com:80/pressbox/archive/526.asp |website=Philadelphia Flyers |access-date=June 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803223304/http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com:80/pressbox/archive/526.asp |archive-date=August 3, 2002 |date=June 12, 2002}}</ref> In 2004, he claimed the starting goaltending spot for the Flyers, and led them to the [[Eastern Conference (NHL)|Eastern Conference]] Finals, only to fall in seven games to the eventual [[Stanley Cup]] champion [[Tampa Bay Lightning]].

While playing in Russia for [[Ak Bars Kazan]], he posted a record of 22–5–2 with a 2.01 [[goals against average]] (GAA) and a .912 save percentage, along with four shutouts.

Esche skated with [[HC Dinamo Minsk|Dinamo Minsk]] during the [[2010–11 KHL season]]. In 2008–09, he posted a record of 21–14 with a 1.87 GAA and .912 save percentage, as well as nine shutouts.

On June 16, 2011, the [[SCL Tigers]] announced they had signed the 33-year-old Esche to a contract,<ref name="Tigers">{{cite web | title=The SCL Tigers complete their defense with goaltender Robert Esche and the defender Philippe Rytz | language=de | publisher=scltigers.ch | url=http://www.scltigers.ch/news-content.aspx?id=1010 | date=June 16, 2011 | access-date=June 19, 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232356/http://www.scltigers.ch/news-content.aspx?id=1010 | archive-date=March 3, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> where he played 40 games, going 15-25, with a 3.05 GAA and .898 save percentage.

==International play==
Esche has represented the United States in the 1997 and 1998 [[Ice Hockey World Championships|World Junior Ice Hockey Championships]] and the IIHF World Championships in 2000, shutting out Russia in [[Russia]], an accomplishment he still lists as his greatest moment in hockey. He represented the US team in 2001 and also received the starting nod at the [[2004 World Cup of Hockey]].

Esche was named to the 2006 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team in [[Turin Olympics|Turin]]. He played one game in the Olympic tournament, losing 5–4 to Russia.

Esche played for the 2008 Team USA Hockey team in the World Championships which took place in Canada. He had earned some starts after sitting out the first few games, including a 42 save performance in a controversial 3–2 loss against Finland.  He also posted a 9–1 victory against Norway.

==Personal Life==
Esche has two children with his former wife Kelly.

Esche is nicknamed "Chico" after former NHL goaltender [[Chico Resch]] because his sticks were labeled R. Esche.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robert L. 'Chico' Esche|url=http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/esche.html|publisher=The Goaltender Home Page|access-date=April 17, 2013}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:75%; text-align:center;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="10" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Regular season]]
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="8" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Playoffs]]
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP !! W !! L !! T !! OTL !! MIN !! GA !! [[Shutout#Ice hockey|SO]] !! [[Goals against average|GAA]] !! [[save percentage|SV%]]
! GP !! W !! L !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV%
|-
| 1994–95
| [[Gloucester Rangers]]
| [[Central Canada Hockey League|CJHL]]
| 20 || 10 || 6 || 0 || — || 1034 || 70 || 0 || 4.06 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1995–96 OHL season|1995–96]]
| [[Detroit Whalers]]
| [[Ontario Hockey League|OHL]]
| 23 || 13 || 6 || 0 || — || 1139 || 71 || 1 || 3.74 || .876
| 3 || 0 || 2 || 105 || 4 || 0 || 2.29 || —
|-  
| [[1996–97 OHL season|1996–97]]
| Detroit Whalers
| OHL
| 58 || 24 || 28 || 2 || — || 3241 || 206 || 2 || 3.81 || .878
| 5 || 1 || 4 || 317 || 19 || 0 || 3.60 || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1997–98 OHL season|1997–98]]
| [[Plymouth Whalers]]
| OHL
| 48 || 29 || 13 || 4 || — || 2810 || 135 || 3 || 2.88 || .896
| 15 || 8 || 7 || 868 || 45 || 0 || 3.11 || .920
|-  
| [[1998–99 AHL season|1998–99]]
| [[Springfield Falcons]]
| [[American Hockey League|AHL]]
| 55 || 24 || 20 || 6 || — || 2957 || 138 || 1 || 2.80 || .905
| 1 || 0 || 1 || 59 || 4 || 0 || 4.02 || .867
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1998–99 NHL season|1998–99]]
| [[Phoenix Coyotes]]
| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| 3 || 0 || 1 || 0 || — || 130 || 7 || 0 || 3.23 || .860
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[1999–00 AHL season|1999–00]]
| Springfield Falcons
| AHL
| 21 || 9 || 9 || 2 || — || 1207 || 61 || 2 || 3.03 || .912
| 3 || 1 || 2 || 180 || 12 || 0 || 4.01 || .878
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1999–00 IHL season|1999–00]]
| [[Houston Aeros (1994–2013)|Houston Aeros]]
| [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|IHL]]
| 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 || — || 419 || 16 || 2 || 2.29 || .922
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[1999–00 NHL season|1999–00]]
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 8 || 2 || 5 || 0 || — || 408 || 23 || 0 || 3.38 || .893
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2000–01 NHL season|2000–01]]
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 25 || 10 || 8 || 4 || — || 1350 || 68 || 2 || 3.02 || .896
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02]]
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 22 || 6 || 10 || 2 || — || 1145 || 52 || 1 || 2.72 || .902
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2001–02 AHL season|2001–02]]
| Springfield Falcons
| AHL
| 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || — || 60 || 0 || 1 || 0.00 || 1.000
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[2002–03 NHL season|2002–03]]
| [[Philadelphia Flyers]]
| NHL
| 30 || 12 || 9 || 3 || — || 1638 || 60 || 2 || 2.20 || .907
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 30 || 1 || 0 || 2.00 || .929
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2003–04 NHL season|2003–04]]
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 40 || 21 || 11 || 7 || — || 2322 || 79 || 3 || 2.04 || .915
| 18 || 11 || 7 || 1060 || 41 || 1 || 2.32 || .918
|- 
| [[2005–06 NHL season|2005–06]]
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 40 || 22 || 11 || — || 5 || 2286 || 113 || 1 || 2.97 || .897
| 6 || 2 || 4 || 314 || 22 || 0 || 4.20 || .875
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2006–07 NHL season|2006–07]]
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 18 || 5 || 9 || — || 1 || 860 || 62 || 1 || 4.32 || .872
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[2007–08 Russian Superleague season|2007–08]]
| [[Ak Bars Kazan]]
| [[Russian Super League|RSL]]
| 18 || — || — || — || — || 1095 || 34 || 3 || 1.86 || .926
| 10 || — || — || 609 || 25 || 1 || 2.46 || .885
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2008–09 KHL season|2008–09]]
| [[SKA Saint Petersburg]]
| [[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]]
| 38 || 21 || 14 || — || 6 || 2183 || 68 || 9 || 1.87 || .912
| 3 || 0 || 3 || 185 || 8 || 0 || 2.59 || .877
|-  
| [[2009–10 KHL season|2009–10]]
| SKA Saint Petersburg
| KHL
| 42 || 29 || 7 || — || 5 || 2527 || 87 || 6 || 2.07 || .917
| 4 || 1 || 3 || 236 || 9 || 0 || 2.29 || .910
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2010–11 KHL season|2010–11]]
| [[HC Dinamo Minsk|Dinamo Minsk]]
| KHL
| 24 || 5 || 14 || — || 5 || 1383 || 76 || 0 || 3.30 || .897
| 4 || 2 || 1 || 216 || 7 || 0 || 1.94 || .942
|-  
| [[2011–12 NLA season|2011–12]]
| [[SCL Tigers]]
| [[National League A|NLA]]
| 40 || 15 || 25 || — || 0 || 2305 || 117 || 1 || 3.05 || .898
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | KHL totals
! 104 !! 55 !! 35 !! — !! 16 !! 6093 !! 231 !! 15 !! 2.27 !! .910
! 11 !! 3 !! 7 !! 637 !! 24 !! 0 !! 2.26 !! .915
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | NHL totals
! 186 !! 78 !! 64 !! 16 !! 6 !! 10,140 !! 464 !! 10 !! 2.75 !! .900
! 25 !! 13 !! 11 !! 1405 !! 64 !! 1 !! 2.73 !! .907
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | 
! GP !! W !! L !! T !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV%
|-
| [[1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|1998]]
| [[United States men's national junior ice hockey team|United States]]
| [[IIHF World Junior Championship|WJC]]
| 4 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 238 || 13 || 0 || 3.28 || .922
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2000 IIHF World Championship|2000]]
| [[United States men's national ice hockey team|United States]]
| [[Ice Hockey World Championships|WC]]
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 120 || 1 || 1 || 0.50 || .984
|-
| [[2001 IIHF World Championship|2001]]
| United States
| WC
| 6 || 4 || 2 || 0 || 359 || 13 || 0 || 2.17 || .931
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"  
| [[2004 World Cup of Hockey|2004]]
| United States
| [[World Cup of Hockey|WCH]]
| 4 || 1 || 3 || 0 || 237 || 10 || 0 || 2.53 || .909
|-
| [[Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2006]]
| United States
| [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games|OLY]]
| 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 59 || 5 || 0 || 5.10 || .762
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2008 IIHF World Championship|2008]]
| United States
| WC
| 4 || 2 || 2 || — || 198 || 7 || 0 || 2.12 || .931
|-
| [[2009 IIHF World Championship|2009]]
| United States
| WC
| 8 || 3 || 5 || — || 480 || 25 || 0 || 3.12 || .891
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | Junior totals 
! 4 !! 2 !! 2 !! 0 !! 238 !! 13!! 0 !! 3.28 !! .922
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | Senior totals 
! 25 !! 11 !! 13 !! 1 !! 1453 !! 61!! 1 !! 2.52 !! .913
|}

==Awards and accomplishments==
*'''[[1997–98 OHL season|1997–98]]''': Second All-Star Team ([[Ontario Hockey League|OHL]])
*'''[[1998–99 AHL season|1998–99]]''': All-Rookie Team ([[American Hockey League|AHL]])
*'''[[2002–03 NHL season|2002–03]]''': [[William M. Jennings Trophy]] ''shared with [[Roman Čechmánek]], [[Philadelphia Flyers|PHI]] and [[Martin Brodeur]], [[New Jersey Devils|NJ]]'' ([[National Hockey League|NHL]])
*'''2002–03''': [[List of Philadelphia Flyers award winners#Yanick Dupre Memorial|Yanick Dupre Memorial]] (Philadelphia Flyers)
*'''[[2003–04 NHL season|2003–04]]''': [[List of Philadelphia Flyers award winners#Pelle Lindbergh Memorial|Pelle Lindbergh Memorial]] (Philadelphia Flyers)
*'''[[2008 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|2008 World Championships]]''': Best save percentage (.931)
*'''[[2008-09 KHL season|2008–09]]''': Played in KHL All-Star Game

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* {{Ice hockey stats}}
* [http://hockeygoalies.org/bio/esche.html Robert Esche biography] at [http://hockeygoalies.org hockeygoalies.org] - advanced statistics and game logs

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Patrick Roy]] | title = Tri-winner of the [[William M. Jennings Trophy|Jennings Trophy]]<br>''(with [[Roman Čechmánek|Roman Cechmanek]] and [[Martin Brodeur]])'' | years = [[2002–03 NHL season|2003]]| after = [[Martin Brodeur]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esche, Robert}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ak Bars Kazan players]]
[[Category:American men's ice hockey goaltenders]]
[[Category:Arizona Coyotes draft picks]]
[[Category:Detroit Whalers players]]
[[Category:American expatriate ice hockey players in Russia]]
[[Category:HC Dinamo Minsk players]]
[[Category:Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic ice hockey players for the United States]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers players]]
[[Category:People from Whitesboro, New York]]
[[Category:Phoenix Coyotes players]]
[[Category:Plymouth Whalers players]]
[[Category:SCL Tigers players]]
[[Category:SKA Saint Petersburg players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Oneida County, New York]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Utica, New York]]
[[Category:Springfield Falcons players]]
[[Category:William M. Jennings Trophy winners]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]