| Ben Eaves | |
| Position | Centre |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Teams | Espoo Blues Nashville Predators |
| Nationality |  American
|
| Born | March 27, 1982, Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| NHL Draft | 131st overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Pro Career | 2004 – 2010 |
Ben Eaves (born March 27, 1982 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American former ice hockey center and current coach of the Jokerit of the SM-Liiga. He is the son of retired NHL player Mike Eaves, and brother of Patrick Eaves of the Detroit Red Wings.
Playing career[]
Eaves went to high school at Shattuck - St. Mary's school in Faribault, Minnesota. Eaves was drafted 131st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons at Boston College before turning pro in 2004. He signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins, but with the 2004–05 NHL season locked out and eventually cancelled, he split the season with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers. He missed majority of 2005–06 season and entire 2006–07 season recovering from knee injuries.
In November 2007 he signed for the Espoo Blues in SM-liiga where he played rest of the season, although missing majority of it due to several injuries. He continued in the team for the following season. On 13 December 2008 he took a break due to injury, he made his comeback on 28 January 2009.
During the SM-Liiga playoffs 2009 Ben Eaves broke the record of Kari Jalonen (season 1980/81) and Hannes Hyvönen (2007/08) for the most points scored during the playoffs (21 points). Eaves managed to score 24 points (4 goals and 20 assists) in 13 games with the Espoo Blues.
On July 21, 2009, Eaves signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators.. On November 2, 2009 Eaves left the Predators' AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals and announced his retirement from hockey.
Coaching career[]
After quitting his playing career Eaves joined the coaching team of Norfolk Admirals in AHL. On May 31, 2010, Eaves signed a two-year coaching contract with Jokerit in SM-liiga. Eaves's responsibilities are to include individual and physical coaching.
Career statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston College | HE | 41 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Boston College | HE | 23 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston College | HE | 36 | 18 | 39 | 57 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Boston College | HE | 26 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 43 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Wheeling Nailers | ECHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 22 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL Totals | 55 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||