Jeff Mead
Encyclopedia
Career
Mead played for several minor league teams in the United States from 1994 until 1997, spending his first season as a member of the West Palm Beach BlazeWest Palm Beach Blaze
The West Palm Beach Blaze were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in West Palm Beach, Florida. They played in the Sunshine Hockey League, later renamed the Southern Hockey League, from 1992–1996. They played their games at the West Palm Beach Auditorium, which is now known as the...
of the Sunshine Hockey League
Sunshine Hockey League
The Sunshine Hockey League was a low-minors professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 to 1995. The league was based in Florida and consisted of five teams in its inaugural 1992-93 season....
. After leading the Sunshine Hockey League, Mead spent his time in the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
, spending the 1995-96 ECHL season as a member of the Johnstown Chiefs
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1988 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when that league was formed...
, and splitting the 1996-97 ECHL season between Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
-based teams in Pensacola
Pensacola Ice Pilots
The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a minor league ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders , and the Chicago Blackhawks. They have also had a working agreement with the Houston Aeros of the...
and Jacksonville
Jacksonville Lizard Kings
Jacksonville Lizard Kings were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formerly known as the Louisville Icehawks, they played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1995–2000...
.
He signed with the Bayernliga team EHC Waldkraiburg for the 1997-98 season, where he scored 46 goals, good for fifth-best in the league. He remained in Germany for the 1998-99 Bayernliga season and signed with EHC Klostersee. Mead briefly returned to the United States and finished the season splitting time between the Alexandria Warthogs
Alexandria Warthogs
The Warthogs were an ice hockey team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. They played from 1998 to 2000, as a member of the Western Professional Hockey League, in the Rapides Parish Coliseum. The team folded at the end of the 1999-00 season, while the league folded in 2001....
and the Tupelo T-Rex
Tupelo T-Rex
The Tupelo T-Rex was a professional ice hockey team, a member of the Western Professional Hockey League and played their home games at BancorpSouth Center from 1998 through 2001...
, both of the Western Professional Hockey League
Western Professional Hockey League
The Western Professional Hockey League is a defunct minor professional ice hockey league.It operated in the United States from 1996 to 2001, with teams in the southern United States, mainly Texas. The league started with six teams in the 1996-1997 season and grew to 18 teams in 1999-2000...
.
Mead signed the next four seasons in the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
, the highest sanctioned league of the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond
Nederlandse IJshockey Bond
The Nederlandse IJshockey Bond is the official governing body of ice hockey in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1933 as a three team league with The Hague, Amsterdam and Tilburg. It joined the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1935...
, first signing with the Tilburg Trappers in 1999. As a member of the Trappers, Mead led the league in points, scoring 29 goals and 39 assists for a total of 68 points. Mead would also spend time with the Nijmegen Devils
Nijmegen Devils
Romijnders Dar Devils Nijmegen is the professional ice hockey team of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie, the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands, where they were the national champions most recently in 2009-2010...
and the Geleen Eaters
Geleen Eaters
Ruijters Eaters Geleen is the professional ice hockey team of Geleen, The Netherlands. It plays in the North Sea Cup , the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands and Belgium...
before returning to the United States in 2003.
Mead would finish his career by playing primarily in the United Hockey League
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...
and the upstart WHA2 from 2003 until his retirement in 2005. Once retired from professional hockey, Mead played Division III hockey for U-Mass Boston, a public university located in Boston, MA.
Mead briefly came out of retirement to play for the Danbury Mad Hatters
Danbury Mad Hatters
The Danbury Mad Hatters were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut at the 2,100-seat Danbury Ice Arena. The Mad Hatters were a member of the Eastern Professional Hockey League....
of the Eastern Professional Hockey League
Eastern Professional Hockey League
The Eastern Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated primarily in Ontario and Quebec from 1959 to 1963....
in 2008. On October 8, 2009, the Mad Hatters announced that they signed Mead to a contract. In two games with the Mad Hatters, Mead was credited with a power play goal and two assists.
Awards
- Sunshine League Champion, West Palm Beach Blaze (1994–95)
- Leading Point Scorer, Eredivisie (1999–2000)