Rudy Poeschek

Rudolph Leopold "Pot Pie" Poeschek (born September 29, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and St. Louis Blues. He played defence, shot right-handed, and was known for his toughness.

Career Poeschek was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 12th round, 238th overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL for three years and there he established himself as a tough enforcer willing to drop his gloves with anybody. During the 1987–1988 season Poeschek finally played his first game with the Rangers. The following season he played in 52 games with the Rangers and registered a career high 199 penalty minutes.

Prior to the 1993–1994 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning picked up Poeschek and it was there that he developed his reputation as an enforcer to be reckoned with, dropping his gloves with the likes of Bob Probert and Craig Berube. Poeschek played four seasons with the Lightning before being picked up by the St. Louis Blues. He played a full year there along with parts of two other seasons and one more with the Houston Aeros of the IHL before retiring after 2000–2001 season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Vernon Lakers BCJHL 54 4 10 14 100 — — — — — 1983–84 Kamloops Junior Oilers WHL 47 3 9 12 93 8 0 2 2 7 1984–85 Kamloops Blazers WHL 34 6 7 13 100 15 0 3 3 56 1985–86 Kamloops Blazers WHL 32 3 13 16 92 16 3 7 10 40 1986–87 Kamloops Blazers WHL 54 13 18 31 153 13 1 4 5 39 1987–88 Colorado Rangers IHL 82 7 31 38 210 12 2 2 4 31 1987–88 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 1988–89 New York Rangers NHL 52 0 2 2 199 — — — — — 1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 38 8 13 21 109 4 0 0 0 16 1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 15 0 0 0 55 — — — — — 1990–91 Binghamton Rangers AHL 38 1 3 4 162 — — — — — 1990–91 Moncton Hawks AHL 23 2 4 6 67 9 1 1 2 41 1990–91 Winnipeg Jets NHL 1 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 1991–92 Moncton Hawks AHL 63 4 18 22 170 11 0 2 2 46 1991–92 Winnipeg Jets NHL 4 0 0 0 17 — — — — — 1992–93 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 78 7 24 31 189 9 0 4 4 13 1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 71 3 6 9 118 — — — — — 1994–95 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 25 1 1 2 92 — — — — — 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 57 1 3 4 88 3 0 0 0 12 1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 60 0 6 6 120 — — — — — 1997–98 St. Louis Blues NHL 50 1 7 8 64 2 0 0 0 6 1998–99 St. Louis Blues NHL 16 0 0 0 33 — — — — — 1999–00 Worcester IceCats AHL 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1999–00 Houston Aeros IHL 32 2 6 8 51 — — — — — 1999–00 St. Louis Blues NHL 12 0 0 0 24 — — — — — 2000–01 Houston Aeros IHL 67 3 13 16 66 7 0 0 0 8 NHL totals 364 6 25 31 817 5 0 0 0 18