ECHL Toledo Walleye

Matt Eldred Decides To Pursue Business Career

December 27, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Toledo Walleye News Release


(Toledo, Ohio) The Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League today announced that defenseman, Matt Eldred, has elected to end his playing career and pursue a position in pharmaceutical sales with Janssen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson, in Cleveland, Ohio.

With respect to his decision, Eldred stated, "I suppose that all professional athletes come to a point where they have to take a hard look at the future. After a long and detailed consideration of all of my options, I concluded that it is time for me to pursue my business career. I have an unbelievable opportunity with Janssen Pharmaceutica that I just cannot turn down. Of course, I still love the game of hockey, and I'm sure that there are a bunch of things that I'll miss about playing-particularly the relationships that you build with your teammates, coaches, fans and all of the other people associated with the game. It is especially difficult for me to leave this season with the success that that the Storm has enjoyed and the first class treatment that I've received from the organization. In this regard, I particularly want to thank Coach Noel, who has played such a large role in my hockey career, as well as my life. He has truly been a mentor, a leader and a friend for a number of years, and I don't expect that to change. I also want to thank the Storm organization and Mike Miller for providing me with the opportunity to complete my career in Toledo, which has such a long and storied hockey tradition. Last but not certainly least, I want to thank the fans-particularly those in Toledo-who have treated me so well. I only hope that, with my emotional style of play and my desire to win, I have given back to them a small portion of the genuine excitement and happiness that they have brought into my life during my playing career.

Head Coach Claude Noel stated, "I have known Matt for some time as a player and, away from the ice, as a friend. The one thing that you could be absolutely certain about Matt every night was that he was going bring his complete focus, intensity, and emotion to the rink. I'm sure he'll be just like that in business-although I trust that he'll keep the physicality to a minimum in the board-room. All joking aside, everyone who is close to Matt knows that there are great things in his future, and I'm looking forward to continuing our friendship for life.

Eldred, who is 28 years old, was born in the Cleveland suburb of Rocky River and had a standout four-year career at Bowling Green State University. In a six year pro career, he played 363 regular season games, scoring 26 goals, adding 54 assists and racking up 902 penalty minutes. Eldred launched his pro career in 1997 under the watchful eye of Coach Noel, who, at that time, was the head coach of the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League. Eldred was ultimately sent that season to the Jacksonville Lizard Kings of the ECHL where he racked up seven goals, fourteen points and 126 penalty minutes. The following season, Eldred started out with the Lizard Kings but was traded to the Johnstown Chiefs. Over the course of that season, his play earned him a couple of calls to the IHL-and specifically to the Milwaukee Admirals where he played a total of 15 games under Head Coach Al Sims and his assistant, Claude Noel.

The next year Eldred started out with Johnstown, but by November had been called up to Milwaukee (with Sims and Noel), where he stuck for the remaining 64 games of the season. Although he started the 2000-01 season in England, Eldred returned to North America after 19 games and once again joined the Admirals, where he finished out the season, playing 45 games for Head Coach Dave Allison and Assistant Coach Noel.

Last season, Eldred started the year in Milwaukee (of the American Hockey League) and played two games there before being sent to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. While with the Cyclones, Eldred scored two goals-one of which was against the Storm (in a 3-2 shootout win for Toledo on November 17, 2001, in the Toledo Sports Arena). In January, he was traded to the Macon Whoopee, who in turn moved him to the Trenton Titans, where he finished out the season, which included being a part of the Titans' playoff run that ended in the second round when they were eliminated by the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.

This season with the Storm, Eldred scored two goals, including a short-handed goal against the Arkansas Riverblades on November 13, and picked up five assists and 70 penalty minutes in twenty-games. Eldred was assessed with a total of 30 minor penalties, getting at least one minor penalty in seventeen games with the Storm this year. Over the course of this season, Eldred earned two separate call-ups to the AHL, playing a game for the Cleveland Barons on November 10 and two games with the Grand Rapids Griffins on November 27 and 28. Eldred was placed on the injured reserve in late November when he broke a bone in his left hand from an opponent's slash.

Eldred is expected to relocate to the Cleveland area immediately.

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