Sean Tallaire

Sean Michael Tallaire (October 3, 1973 – March 12, 2024) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the International Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Career Tallaire played college hockey at Lake Superior State University from 1992 to 1996. Tallaire was selected in the eight round, 202nd overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He was named the tournament MVP at the 1994 NCAA Championship Tournament, which was won by LSSU.

After college, Tallaire played in the International Hockey League from 1996 to 2001 with the Manitoba Moose, Grand Rapids Griffins, Cleveland Lumberjacks, Long Beach Ice Dogs, Utah Grizzlies, and Kansas City Blades. His best season came with the Grizzlies in 1999–2000, when he scored 31 goals and had 65 points. Aside from the IHL, Tallaire also had brief stints in the American Hockey League and Western Professional Hockey League.

In 2001, Tallaire went to Europe to play in Germany, joining the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL. After one season with the Roosters, he played three years with the ERC Ingolstadt, interrupted by a season with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers. He signed a one-year contract with the Kölner Haie prior to the 2006–07 season, in which he was having his best season offensively before tearing his ACL midway through the season. After his recovery, Kölner Haie offered him another one-year contract for the following season, in which the Sharks were league runners up. Talliare signed with Kölner's rival, Kassel Huskies and played two seasons with them.

Personal life and death Tallaire married Jennifer Sorenson in August 1997. Together they had two sons, Carter (b. 1998) and Chase (b. 2002). Tallaire died in Pflugerville, Texas on March 12, 2024, at the age of 50.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1992–93 Lake Superior State University NCAA 43 26 26 52 26 — — — — — 1993–94 Lake Superior State University NCAA 45 23 32 55 22 — — — — — 1994–95 Lake Superior State University NCAA 41 21 28 49 38 — — — — — 1995–96 Lake Superior State University NCAA 40 32 18 50 36 — — — — — 1996–97 Manitoba Moose IHL 74 21 29 50 36 — — — — — 1997–98 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 73 13 17 30 65 — — — — — 1997–98 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 7 1 1 2 4 10 2 2 4 4 1998–99 Central Texas Stampede WPHL 2 1 3 4 0 — — — — — 1998–99 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1998–99 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 56 24 19 43 68 8 4 1 5 8 1998–99 Springfield Falcons AHL 6 2 1 3 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Utah Grizzlies IHL 82 31 34 65 85 5 0 0 0 10 2000–01 Kansas City Blades IHL 80 23 28 51 44 — — — — — 2001–02 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 60 22 21 43 38 — — — — — 2002–03 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 52 18 17 35 68 — — — — — 2003–04 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 52 12 20 32 54 9 1 5 6 2 2004–05 Nürnberg Ice Tigers DEL 52 17 20 37 40 6 1 3 4 16 2005–06 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 45 12 13 25 24 7 2 0 2 10 2006–07 Kölner Haie DEL 30 12 11 23 28 — — — — — 2007–08 Kölner Haie DEL 56 12 25 37 36 14 4 3 7 10 2008–09 Kassel Huskies DEL 52 14 23 37 20 — — — — — 2009–10 Kassel Huskies DEL 26 4 5 9 4 — — — — — DEL totals 425 123 155 278 312 36 8 11 19 38

Awards and honours Award Year All-CCHA Rookie Team 1992–93 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1994 NCAA Tournament MVP1994 All-CCHA First Team 1995–96 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1995–96