Lee Sorochan

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

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. 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. 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. He made his regular season debut with Binghamton during the 1995–96 season, playing 45 games and scoring 10 points. Sorochan would finish the season with the Flames farm team the Saint John Flames. He would only play 8 games for the Knights however, as Finnish team Jokerit offered him a contract in December. 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. 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 teammate Boris Blank during practice and damaged a ligament in his knee, resulting in him being out of the lineup for several weeks.

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, 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.

Transactions March 23, 1999 - Traded by the New York Rangers to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Chris O'Sullivan.

Awards and achievements World Junior Championship Gold Medal (1995) British Champion (2003)

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 34 10 17 27 46 — — — — — 1991–92 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 67 2 9 11 155 5 0 2 2 6 1992–93 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 69 8 32 40 208 4 0 1 1 12 1993–94 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 46 5 27 32 123 9 4 3 7 16 1994–95 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 29 4 15 19 93 — — — — — 1994–95 Saskatoon Blades WHL 24 5 13 18 63 10 3 6 9 34 1994–95 Binghamton Rangers AHL — — — — — 8 0 0 0 11 1995–96 Binghamton Rangers AHL 45 2 8 10 26 1 0 0 0 0 1996–97 Binghamton Rangers AHL 77 4 27 31 160 4 0 2 2 18 1997–98 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 73 7 11 18 197 13 0 2 2 51 1998–99 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 45 0 10 10 204 — — — — — 1998–99 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 16 0 2 2 33 — — — — — 1998–99 Calgary Flames NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1998–99 Saint John Flames AHL 3 1 3 4 4 7 3 3 6 29 1999–00 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Saint John Flames AHL 60 4 37 41 124 3 2 1 3 12 2000–01 London Knights BISL 8 1 3 4 48 — — — — — 2000–01 Jokerit Liiga 16 0 0 0 18 — — — — — 2001–02 Eisbären Berlin DEL 48 0 6 6 88 4 0 2 2 18 2002–03 Belfast Giants BISL 31 2 12 14 99 12 1 2 3 49 2003–04 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 63 3 18 21 137 — — — — — 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