Erik Wayne Rasmussen (born March 28, 1977) is a retired American professional ice hockey player.
Early life Rasmussen, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, gained statewide recognition in 1995 when he was awarded the prestigious Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award, an honor given annually to the most outstanding high school hockey player in the state. His talent and dedication earned him a spot with the University of Minnesota, where he competed in NCAA Division I hockey for two seasons.
Career Rasmussen was chosen seventh overall in the first round of the 1996 NHL entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres, marking him as one of the top prospects of his class. Throughout his professional career, Rasmussen suited up for the Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, and New Jersey Devils. During the 2007–08 season, he played for the Lowell Devils, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. Following that season, Rasmussen took his talents overseas by signing with Porin Ässät, a team in Finland’s top professional league, the SM-liiga, for the 2008–09 season.
During his time with the Porin Ässät organization, Rasmussen played in 31 regular-season games, tallying one goal and eight assists. The team finished 12th in the standings and was forced into the play-out round to determine which club would face relegation against a Mestis team, Finland's second-tier league. After losing the play-out, Ässät faced Vaasan Sport in a best-of-seven relegation series. Rasmussen played in 13 total playoff and relegation games, contributing four goals and five assists for nine points. In the decisive seventh game of the series, he scored Ässät's first goal and assisted on their third, helping secure the team’s spot in the SM-liiga.
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1992–93 St. Louis Park High School HS-MN 23 16 24 40 50 — — — — — 1993–94 St. Louis Park High School HS-MN 18 25 18 43 80 — — — — — 1994–95 St. Louis Park High School HS-MN 23 19 33 52 80 — — — — — 1995–96 University of Minnesota WCHA 40 16 32 48 55 — — — — — 1996–97 University of Minnesota WCHA 34 15 12 27 123 — — — — — 1997–98 Rochester Americans AHL 53 9 14 23 83 1 0 0 0 5 1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL 21 2 3 5 14 — — — — — 1998–99 Rochester Americans AHL 37 12 14 26 47 — — — — — 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 42 3 7 10 37 21 2 4 6 18 1999–2000 Buffalo Sabres NHL 67 8 6 14 43 3 0 0 0 4 2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 12 19 31 51 3 0 1 1 0 2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL 69 8 11 19 34 — — — — — 2002–03 Los Angeles Kings NHL 57 4 12 16 28 — — — — — 2003–04 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 7 6 13 41 5 0 2 2 2 2005–06 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 5 5 10 32 9 0 0 0 8 2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 71 3 7 10 25 11 0 0 0 14 2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 26 2 3 5 14 — — — — — 2008–09 Ässät SM-l 31 1 8 9 60 — — — — —NHL totals 545 52 76 128 305 52 2 7 9 46
International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1996 United States WJC 6 0 1 1 16 1997 United States WJC 6 4 5 9 4 2002 United States WC 7 0 1 1 2Junior totals 12 4 6 10 20
Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA Rookie Team 1995–96
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