First-round pick Ian Cole made his NHL debut with St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Boston.

Former Irish Defenseman Ian Cole Makes NHL Debut

Nov. 8, 2010

St. Louis, Mo. – Former Notre Dame defenseman Ian Cole was recalled by the St. Louis Blues on Friday, Nov. 5th from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, and made his National Hockey League debut on Sat., Nov. 6, in Boston against the Bruins.

The 21-year old defenseman who played three seasons at Notre Dame (2007-10) made his debut in a 2-1 shootout win for St. Louis over Boston, playing 12:58 and getting one shot on goal while picking up a penalty in the third period. He was -1 in the game.

Cole didn’t have time to relive much of his first NHL game as he was back in action on Sunday night, playing the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden with the Blues again winning, 2-0. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native saw 12:23 minutes of playing time versus the Rangers in that win. He is currently part of a seven-man rotation on the St. Louis blue line that features three rookies and a total of five defenders with limited NHL playing time. Three members of the Blues’ defense are currently on the injured reserve.

Despite the injuries, St. Louis has won seven straight games and is off to the best start (9-1-2) in the franchise’s history. The Blues are next in action on Wed., Nov. 10, when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio.

Cole, who was originally drafted by the Blues with the first round pick, 18th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, played in 11 games with Peoria to start the season and had no points with 16 penalty minutes. The Rivermen are currently in second place in the AHL’s West Division.

As a member of the Fighting Irish defense for three seasons, Cole played in 111 games, scoring 17 goals with 48 assists for 65 points while recording 153 penalty minutes. His best season came in 2008-09 when he had six goals and 20 assists for 26 points and was +15 on the year while being named a first team all-CCHA selection and a first team AHCA/Reebok West All-American. He was a member of the `07-’08 team that played in the NCAA Championship game and was a member of the `08-’09 CCHA regular-season and tournament championship teams.

Cole is one of four Notre Dame players to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft and remains the highest pick overall as he was selected 18th in 2007.

He is one of five former Notre Dame players currently playing in the NHL as he joins Mark Eaton (New York Islanders), Brett Lebda `04 (Toronto Maple Leafs), Christian Hanson `09 (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Kyle Palmieri (Anaheim Ducks).