Steven Rice

Steven Rice (born May 26, 1971 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is a former professional right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League in the 1990s.
Rice was drafted 20th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Following his outstanding performance at the 1991 World Junior Championship, in which he captained Canada to the gold medal, he was considered one of the top young power forward prospects in the game. In the summer of 1991, he was sent to the Edmonton Oilers as one of the centerpieces going the other way in the trade of superstar centre Mark Messier. 
His results in Edmonton would be mixed - he spent most of his first two seasons there with their AHL affiliate, but established himself as a full-time NHL player in 1993–94 scoring 17 goals. Following that season, he signed a free-agent offer sheet with the Hartford Whalers, and joined the Whalers the following season when Edmonton declined to match the offer. In his three years in Hartford, he established himself as a quality role player, scoring a career high 21 goals in 1996–97. However, a nightmare campaign in 1997–98 following the franchise's move to Carolina, in which he scored just 2 goals, effectively ended his NHL career. He retired at the premature age of 27.
Rice came out of retirement in 2002, playing in the Ontario Hockey Association for the Cambridge Hornets until 2006 where he briefly played for the Brantford Blast in the same league before retiring for good in 2006.
He played 329 career NHL games, scoring 64 goals and 61 assists for 125 points.
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Category:Cambridge Hornets players
Category:Brantford Blast players
Category:Born in 1971
Category:Binghamton Rangers players
Category:Calder Cup champions
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Cape Breton Oilers players
Category:Carolina Hurricanes players
Category:Edmonton Oilers players
Category:Hartford Whalers players
Category:Kitchener Rangers alumni
Category:New York Rangers draft picks
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks
Category:Retired in 2006