Mark Eaton (ice hockey)

Mark Eaton
Eaton with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013.
Born	(1977-05-06) May 6, 1977 (age 39) Wilmington, Delaware
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Nashville Predators Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders
National team	United States
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1998–2013

Mark Andrew Eaton (born May 6, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Islanders. He is the only NHL player to ever come from Delaware. He attended John Dickinson High School in the Wilmington suburbs but played his youth hockey across the state line in Pennsylvania.

Eaton started his post-secondary competition with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He was named second team all-USHL, was the league's third-leading scoring defenseman and was honored with the Curt Hammer Award as the USHL's most gentlemanly player. Eaton then moved on to the University of Notre Dame of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). In his only season at UND, Eaton was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year after scoring 12 goals with 17 assists for 29 points.

Eaton signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on August 4, 1998. Eaton made his NHL debut on October 2, 1999, against the Ottawa Senators, becoming the first Philadelphia-area native to play for the Flyers. He scored his first NHL goal on April 8, 2000, when he scored the game-winner against Rob Tallas of the Boston Bruins. He played his first playoff game in the NHL for the Flyers on April 13 against the Buffalo Sabres.