Mathieu Schneider

Mathieu Schneider
Schneider warming up during his time with the Detroit Red Wings against the Calgary Flames on November 17, 2006 during the 2006-2007 season.
Born	(1969-06-12) June 12, 1969 (age 47) New York City, New York, USA
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens New York Islanders Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Anaheim Ducks Atlanta Thrashers Vancouver Canucks Phoenix Coyotes
National team	United States
NHL Draft	44th overall, 1987 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1987–2010

Mathieu David Schneider (born June 12, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Considered an offensive defenseman, Schneider played 1289 games in the National Hockey League with ten different teams, scoring 233 goals and totalling 743 points. He won the Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Schneider, who is Jewish, was born in Manhattan, New York, the first of two sons born to Sam and Aline Schneider. His father is Jewish and his mother, a French-Canadian from Thetford Mines, Quebec, converted to Judaism before marrying his father. He lived with his family in West New York, New Jersey until moving to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, for his high school years. In Woonsocket, Schneider attended high school at Mount Saint Charles Academy. Under the tutelage of coach Normand "Bill" Belisle, Schneider and his team won three of the school's 26 straight Rhode Island state hockey championships. He left Mount Saint Charles after his junior year and joined the Cornwall Royals of the Ontario Hockey League.

Drafted in the third round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, 44th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens, Schneider was the Canadiens' fourth pick (after forwards Andrew Cassels and John LeClair, and fellow defenseman Éric Desjardins). He played his first NHL game a few months later when he suited up on 1987–88 opening night against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, after four games, he was sent back to his junior team (Cornwall Royals) for the rest of the season. He would spend the entirety of 1988–89 with Cornwall before splitting the next season between Montreal and their American Hockey League farm team, the Sherbrooke Canadiens. After being promoted to the Canadiens, he scored seven goals and 21 points in 44 games with Montreal. Schneider earned a full-time NHL roster spot in the 1990–91 season and, two years later, he won the 1993 Stanley Cup with the Canadiens, defeating Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in five games. Following his Stanley Cup victory, Schneider broke out with 52 points in 1993–94, topping all team defensemen. During the 1994–95 season, Schneider was traded to the New York Islanders finishing the season with 29 points in 43 games between the two clubs. In 1995–96, he recorded 47 points in 65 games with the Islanders and appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game (1996), before being traded in March 1996 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for three players and a first-round selection in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft (eventually Roberto Luongo). He finished the year with 54 points in 78 games between the two clubs.