John Erskine is a National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman who plays for the Washington Capitals. He was originally selected by the Dallas Stars in the second round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, where he made his NHL debut during the 2001-02 season. In 2006, Erskine was traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for Janne Ninima, but ended up signing with the Capitals on September 14, 2006 as an unrestricted free agent.http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=16734http://capitals.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467365&view=bio

Born on June 26, 1980 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, John Erskine enjoys spending time fishing, lifting weights, golfing, and hunting. Before playing hockey at the professional level, he played three seasons of major junior hockey with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In 170 games for the Knights, Erskine posted 72 points on 20 goals and 52 assists, and registered 590 penalty minutes. During the 1998-99 season, he led the Knights in scoring during the playoffs with 15 points in 25 games. Then, in 1999-00 he won the Max Kaminsky Trophy for defenseman of the year, and was named to the league's First All-Star Team.http://capitals.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467365&view=bio

John Erskine scored his first assist on the season in an October 27 game against the Carolina Hurricanes, and his first goal on November 9 against the New York Rangers. As of December 17, Erskine has logged seven points on the season with three goals and four assists, and ranks second on the team in hits.http://capitals.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467365&season=20102011&view=gamelog http://capitals.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467365&view=stats

During the 2009-10 season, John Erskine played in 50 games for the Caps, logging six points on one goal and five assists.http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=16734 The goal came on January 26 against the New York Islanders, and was Erskine's first goal in over two years.http://capitals.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=529691

In his 50 games on the season, Erskine finished fifth on the team with 80 blocked shots, and sixth in hits with 109. He also posted a +16 plus/minus rating on the season, the best of his career, and 66 penalty minutes. Of these penalty minutes, four were for fighting majors.http://capitals.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=529691

John Erskine began the 2008-09 season signing a two-year contract extension with the Capitals, keeping him on the team through the 2010-11 season.http://www.hockeyfights.com/forums/f15/capitals-sign-john-erskine-two-year-contract-extension-107005/ He went on to post four points on four assists during the season in 52 games, registering a +1 plus/minus rating and 63 penalty minutes. In 12 playoff games, he posted one point on one assist, logging 16 penalty minutes.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=31871