Bruno Gervais (born October 3, 1984) 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He played with the New York Islanders,

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

and the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

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).

Playing career

As a youth, Gervais played in the 1997

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, ...

with the Richelieu Laser

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. Gervais was selected in the sixth round of the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This wa ...

, 182nd overall, by the New York Islanders. Gervais was named captain of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The le ...

as an 18-year-old even though there were many veteran players. In his 19-year-old season he hurt his knee at the December tryout camp for team Canada's under 20 team. He missed the rest of the season. After scoring a career high 19 points in 63 games with the Islanders in the 2008–09 season, he was selected as the Nassau County Athlete of the Year Award in 2009. On June 25, 2011, he was traded after 7 seasons within the Islanders organization to the

for future considerations. Two days later Gervais was signed by Tampa Bay to a one-year contract. He played in 50 games during 2011–12 season with the Lightning, scoring a career high 6 goals. After one season in Tampa Bay, Gervais signed a two-year contract as a free agent worth $1.65 million with the

. Viewed as a depth defenseman, and after a short stint with heilbronner Falken of the German 2nd Bundesliga, he filled in as the Flyers' sixth blue liner in the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

shortened

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. In the second year of his contract with the Flyers, Gervais failed to make the team out of training camp. After clearing waivers he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and ...

, for the duration of the 2013–14 season. In 59 games he led the Phantoms on the Blueline with 10 goals and 26 points. On July 1, 2014, he was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. In the 2014–15 season, Gervais was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

. As a veteran and older statesman of the club, Gervais was selected as team captain. In 71 contests with the Monsters, he produced 13 points from the blueline, but was unable to lead the Monsters to the post-season. On July 6, 2015, Gervais opted to return for a second attempt in Germany, securing a one-year contract as a free agent with DEL club,

Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also o ...

. Gervais remained in Berlin for two seasons, before announcing his retirement from his 13-year professional hockey career on July 13, 2017.

Personal

He has a brother, Maxime, who played 8 games for the

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles The Cape Breton Eagles are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Their home rink is Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. History The franchise was originally granted to the Sorel Éperviers (B ...

in the QMJHL before playing semi-professionally within Quebec. Gervais is the childhood best friend of fellow player Max Talbot whom he met while playing minor hockey in Quebec.

Career statistics

References

External links

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Bruno Gervais on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gervais, Bruno 1984 births Living people Acadie–Bathurst Titan players Adirondack Phantoms players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Eisbären Berlin players French Quebecers Heilbronner EC players Sportspeople from Longueuil Lake Erie Monsters players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Philadelphia Flyers players Ice hockey people from Quebec Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany