Eric Prentice

Eric Dayton Prentice (August 22, 1926 — December 8, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played a total of 5 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1943–44 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1943 to 1950, was spent in different minor leagues. Prentice holds the record for the youngest player signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs - he was 17. His brother Dean had a long career in the NHL, mainly with the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, and the Detroit Red Wings.

Career Prentice played the 1942–43 season with the Timmins Buffalo Ankerites in the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League. He then spent the 1943–44 season playing with Providence-Hershey in the American Hockey League. He made his only appearance in the NHL when he played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. During those five games, he failed to record a point and spent 4 minutes in the penalty box.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1942–43 Timmins Buffalo Ankerites TBSHL — — — — — — — — — — 1943–44 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1943–44 Providence Reds AHL 7 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1943–44 Hershey Bears AHL 6 3 2 5 12 7 2 0 2 0 1944–45 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 33 9 7 16 10 — — — — — 1945–46 Omaha Knights USHL 3 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 1945–46 Hollywood Wolves PCHL 21 6 6 12 19 12 4 9 13 12 1946–47 Hollywood Wolves PCHL 60 18 22 40 12 7 2 3 5 6 1947–48 Fresno Falcons PCHL 62 18 12 30 58 6 1 2 3 9 1948–49 Philadelphia Rockets AHL 63 22 24 46 10 — — — — — 1949–50 Fresno Falcons PCHL 65 20 16 36 22 — — — — — PCHL totals 208 62 56 118 111 25 7 14 21 27 NHL totals 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — —