Denis Gauthier, Jr. (born October 1, 1976) is a Canadian 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 ...

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

. A first round selection of 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 ...

at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Gauthier played for the Flames, Phoenix Coyotes,

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 ...

and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

during his ten-season

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) career.

Playing career

Gauthier played four seasons of major-junior hockey with the

Drummondville Voltigeurs The Drummondville Voltigeurs are a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was originally granted for the 1982–83 season, and is based in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, playing its home games at ...

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 ...

. He holds the franchise record for most goals by a defenceman in one season, 25, and had his number 21 retired by the Voltiguers in 2009. Known for his big open-ice hits, this physical, defensive player was the

' first-round draft pick, 20th overall, in the 1995 Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut in 1997 and quickly established himself as a powerful presence on the blue line. He played only the first round of the Flames' 2004 playoff run after suffering a knee injury in Game 6 against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. He later underwent surgery on his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

on May 21. In the 2004 off-season, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in a deal also involving

Daymond Langkow Daymond Randolph Langkow (born September 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was the fifth overall selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played junior hockey with the Tri-City American ...

and

Oleg Saprykin Oleg Dmitrievich Saprykin (russian: Олег Дмитриевич Сапрыкин; born February 12, 1981) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. Saprykin played with HC Dynamo Moscow, SKA Saint Petersburg, HC Sochi and Avtomobilist ...

. During the 2006 trade deadline, Gauthier was traded to the

for

Josh Gratton Josh Gratton (born September 9, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who last played for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Gratton played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers and the Phoenix ...

and 2 second round draft picks. Prior to the 2007-08 season, Gauthier was waived by the Flyers and was assigned to the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...

. He spent the entire season with the Phantoms, and following the season was waived again on June 30, 2008. The following day, he was traded along with a 2010 second round draft pick to the

for

Patrik Hersley Patrik Hersley (born June 23, 1986) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman. Playing career Being a native of Malmö and beginning his career in Malmö Redhawks, at the time regularly oscillating between Elitserien ( SHL) and Hocke ...

and Ned Lukacevic. On February 2, 2009, Gauthier was suspended for five games for a high elbow head shot to

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 ...

defenseman

Josh Gorges Joshua Daniel Gorges (born August 14, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He is of German ancestry; his grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada. Gorges played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose ...

. On February 21, 2009, Gauthier was suspended for two games for boarding on an icing call to

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

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 ...

Patrick Marleau Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the all-time leader in games played in league history. He passed the record previously held by Gordie Howe ...

.Kings' Gauthier Suspended For Two Games
nhl.com, February 21, 2009

Awards

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 ...

: *

Emile Bouchard Trophy The Émile Bouchard Trophy is awarded annually by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, to the "Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing te ...

, 1995–96 *First Team All-Star, 1995–96 Canadian Hockey League *First Team All-Star, 1995–96 IIHF U20 World Championship *Gold Medal, 1995–96

Personal life

Gauthier's father, Denis Sr., was a professional wrestler, and his mother Joanne is the sister of former wrestlers

Jacques Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, Armand and

Raymond Rougeau Raymond Rougeau (born February 18, 1955) is a Canadian politician, former professional wrestler and French language commentator. He most notably worked for the World Wrestling Federation between 1986 and 2002, firstly as one of The Fabulous Rou ...

. His nephew

Julien Gauthier Julien Gauthier (born October 15, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gauthier was drafted 21st overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He ha ...

was drafted by the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthier, Denis 1976 births Living people Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Drummondville Voltigeurs players French Quebecers Los Angeles Kings players Ice hockey people from Montreal Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Phoenix Coyotes players Saint John Flames players Ice hockey people from Quebec