Eric Meloche was born May 1, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec. The 7th choice, 186th overall selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Meloche who is the son of Penguins goaltending coach and scout Gilles Meloche, is a graduate of the Central Junior Hockey League's Cornwall Colts and of the CCHA's Ohio State Buckeyes.
In his four years at Ohio State, Meloche was one of the most exciting players to watch in the CCHA. A smooth, fast skater with a cannon for a shot, Meloche made his professional debut with the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2000-01, scoring 40 points and finishing sixth in team scoring and played a key role in the Baby Penguins run to the Calder Cup Final.
Meloche returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2001-02 and spent the majority of the season with the team while making his NHL debut January 24, 2002 becoming only the second father-son duo in Penguins history. Meloche spent the majority of the 2002-03 season in the AHL, but managed to score his first NHL goal in his handful of games with Pittsburgh that season. In 2003-04, Meloche established career highs in goals (16), assists (26) and points (42) with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while leading the team to the Calder Cup final against eventual winner Milwaukee. Although he spent the majority of the season in the AHL, Meloche went on to see action in 25 games with the parent club tallying ten points (3-7-10) before being acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers in the summer of 2004.
A Calder Cup winner with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2005, Meloche continued to toil in the AHL in the early stages of the 2005-06 season before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Patrick Sharp.
Meloche would spend the end of his season with the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Norfolk before being dealt back to the Flyers in the off-season in exchange for Vaclav Pletka.
