Denis Chalifoux is a retired 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 ...

player, most notably with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

and the Laval Chiefs of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).

History

Junior career

Chalifoux played his major junior hockey with the Laval Titan of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 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 ...

, between 1987 and 1991. In his last two seasons with the club, he was the team's leading scorer, and is the franchise's third-leading all-time scorer after Hockey Hall of Fame players

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

and Mike Bossy. In 1990, Chalifoux was the leading scorer in the playoffs and won the

Guy Lafleur Trophy The Guy Lafleur Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. It is named for Hockey Hall of Famer and QMJHL alumnus Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, ...

for playoff Most Valuable Player, en route to leading the Titan to the league championship and a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

berth. He was the league's third leading scorer in 1991 and was named to the Second All-Star Team.

Professional career

Drafted by the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

of 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 ...

in the 12th round of the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

, Chalifoux reported to the Whalers' farm team, the defending

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

champion

. He played the next three seasons for the Indians, serving as the team's third-line center for the first two. In the 1994 season - the final season for the 52-year-old Indians franchise - he was playing much better, scoring over a point a game, when a shoulder injury ended his season after 44 games. Not tendered a contract the next season after his entry-level contract had expired, Chalifoux signed with the

Worcester IceCats The Worcester IceCats were a US ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum. In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and moved to Peoria, Illinois. History The IceCats ...

, the team's first season. He led the team in scoring, centering a line including old Indians' teammate Blair Atcheynum, but played only a single season with the club, and signed for the 1995 season with the

Cornwall Aces The Cornwall Aces were the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Quebec Nordiques from 1993 to 1995 and the relocated Colorado Avalanche in 1995–96. They were based in the eastern Ontario city of Cornwall and pla ...

, whom he likewise led in scoring. He played the next three seasons in Europe, playing for WSV Sterzing – SSI Vipiteno Broncos of the Italian league and

VEU Feldkirch VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria. The team currently plays in the Ö Eishockey Liga. They Play Their Home Games At Vorarlberghalle. They formerly Play in the Austrian National League and Alps Hockey League ...

of the Austrian league, before returning to Laval in 2000 to play with the hometown Laval Chiefs of the LNAH, with whom he would spend the rest of his professional career and be the career scoring leader.

Coaching

Chalifoux coached the

Shawinigan Cataractes The Shawinigan Cataractes (french: Cataractes de Shawinigan) are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. The Cataractes have been previously known as the Shawinigan Bruin ...

of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the 2012-13 season. The team finished in last place, with a 15-46-7 record, and Chalifoux was let go after the season concluded.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalifoux, Denis 1971 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Cornwall Aces players Hartford Whalers draft picks Ice hockey people from Quebec Laval Titan players Minnesota Moose players Shawinigan Cataractes coaches Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec Springfield Indians players Worcester IceCats players Canadian ice hockey coaches