Benoît Jacques Joseph Gratton (born December 28, 1976) 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 h ...

forward 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). He is currently the head coach for Jonquière Marquis of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).

Playing career

Gratton was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1989 and 1990

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from Montreal. Selected 105th overall by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. ...

, Gratton spent several seasons in the Capitals' system before he was traded to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in 1999. After spending several seasons in the Flames' organization, he was claimed on waivers in 2001 by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. From 2004 to 2014, Gratton played hockey in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, most notably playing six seasons with the Vienna Capitals. After sitting out the 2014–15 season, Gratton made a semi-professional return in the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) with Jonquière Marquis, playing two seasons until announcing his retirement following the 2016–17 season.

Coaching career

Prior to the 2017–18 season, Gratton continued his association with Jonquière Marquis as he was appointed head coach of the club on August 18, 2017.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1976 births Living people Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres French Quebecers Granby Prédateurs players Hamburg Freezers players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players HC Lugano players Ice hockey people from Montreal Laval Titan players Laval Titan Collège Français players Montreal Canadiens players Portland Pirates players Quebec Citadelles players Saint John Flames players Vienna Capitals players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1970s-stub