Aaron Gagnon (born April 24, 1986) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

and

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

Early life

Gagnon was born on April 24, 1986, in

Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, to parents Kelly and Barry Gagnon. He was raised in

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

. Gagnon has a sister, Jillian, and a brother, Bryn. His brother Bryn is also an

player, having played for the

Salmon Arm Silverbacks The Salmon Arm Silverbacks are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Silverbacks returned a BCHL team to Shuswap/Salmon Arm 12 years after the previou ...

of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Ca ...

and currently a member of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans of the

Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is the governing body for collegiate sports in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1964, as the Western Inter-College Conference, the ACAC is represented by eighteen schools, including one in Saskatchewan, t ...

Playing career

Junior

Gagnon was drafted in the 5th round, 83rd overall by the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in ac ...

in the 2001

WHL Bantam Draft The WHL Bantam Draft is an annual outing, in which the teams of the Western Hockey League select players who have graduated from bantam. The draft's order of selection depends on where the team finishes in the league standings. The teams that mi ...

. In the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

immediately following the draft, Gagnon played in 2 games with the Thunderbirds, while spending most of the season with his North Okanagan Midget AA team of the BCAHA where he scored 59 goals and 118 points in only 41 games to lead the team in scoring. One year later, Gagnon began his rookie season with Seattle. In 60 games, Gagnon scored 18 points while adding another 5 points in 15 playoff games. Gagnon's sophomore season was a large improvement over his rookie campaign. With 36 points in 63 games, Gagnon doubled his previous seasons' point total. Gagnon's defensive game also improved, as he led the Thunderbirds in plus/minus with a plus-18. Gagnon's third season in the WHL proved to be one of his most successful. After setting new career highs in goals (31), assists (34), and points (65) in 72 games, Gagnon was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team and was named the Western Conference nomination for the

Brad Hornung Trophy The Brad Hornung Trophy is awarded annually to the most sportsmanlike player of the Western Hockey League. First presented in 1967, it was later renamed in honour of former Regina Pats player Brad Hornung who was paralyzed during a game on March 1, ...

as the WHL's most sportsmanlike player of the year, an award he ultimately lost to

Kris Russell Kris Russell (born May 2, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted in the third roun ...

of the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

. On September 22, 2005, just prior to the start of his fourth full WHL season, Gagnon was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Thunderbirds. Gagnon's final season with the Thunderbirds was arguably the best of his WHL career. Serving once again as the Thunderbirds'

, Gagnon finished the season with career highs in goals (42), assists (38), and points (80) in only 59 games. During the season, Gagnon was twice named the

Boston Pizza Boston Pizza (BP), known as Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar outside of Canada, is a Canadian multinational restaurant chain that owns and franchises locations in Canada, the United States and Mexico. History Boston Pizza ...

WHL Player of the Week and was also named the

Husky Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

WHL Player of the Month for December. At the completion of the regular season, Gagnon was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team and was the Western Conference nomination for both the

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year. The trophy is named in honour of four members of the Swift Current Broncos who were killed on December 30, 1986 in the Swift Current Broncos ...

as the WHL's

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, and the

as the WHL's most sportsmanlike player of the year. For the second time in his WHL career, Gagnon lost out on an award to

of the

, losing the

; however, Gagnon did manage to win his first

Professional

Gagnon was drafted in the eighth round, 240th overall by the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

. On February 2, 2007, Gagnon signed a three-year entry-level contract with the

. On July 1, 2011, Gagnon signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the

. In early August 2013, after spending his first five professional seasons in North America, Gagnon signed for two years with the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

team

HV71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League s ...

, joining Riley Holzapfel whom he played with in

St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...

. In the 2013–14 season, Gagnon appeared in only 9 games with HV71 before opting to transfer to the Finnish

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

with

Lukko Rauma Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Fin ...

. He stayed at Lukko until January 25, 2017, and then moved to

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern (''Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English language, English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL), where he inked a deal for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. After three seasons with the SCL Tigers, he played his last professional season in

2020-21 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

with Swedish Allsvenskan club,

Modo Hockey Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...

International play

On April 1, 2004, Gagnon was named to the

roster for the

2004 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Minsk, Belarus. The championships began on April 8, 2004, and finished on April 18, 2004. Games were played at the Ice Palace and Palace sport in Minsk. Russia defeated the United States 3–2 in t ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnon, Aaron 1986 births Living people Arizona Coyotes draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Cariboo people Dallas Stars players Grand Rapids Griffins players HV71 players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Iowa Stars players Lukko players Modo Hockey players Seattle Thunderbirds players SC Bern players SCL Tigers players St. John's IceCaps players Texas Stars players Winnipeg Jets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden