Gaston Reginald Yoland Gingras (born February 13, 1959) 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 ...

who played one season in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) and ten seasons 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 ...

from 1978 to 1989.Gaston Gingras at hockeydb.com
/ref>

Career

Born and raised in Temiscaming, Quebec, Gingras did not start playing hockey until the age of seven, when he convinced his mother Alva that if his best buddy could play then he would play too, and she got the necessary equipment for both boys.
/ref> In 1974, he played for the North Bay Trappers of the

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...

and then with the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

, followed by the

Hamilton Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

also of the OHL. He then joined the

for the 1978/79 season with the Birmingham Bulls. Gingras spent one season in Birmingham, joining

Michel Goulet Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. ...

Rick Vaive Richard Claude "Rick" Vaive (; born May 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA), before playing the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NH ...

Craig Hartsburg Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ( ...

Rob Ramage George Robert Ramage (born January 11, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnes ...

Pat Riggin Patrick Michael Riggin (born May 26, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Birmingham Bulls Riggin began his professional career while still a teenager with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Assoc ...

and

Keith Crowder Keith Scott Crowder (born January 6, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1980–81 until 1989–90. Playing career Crowder was drafted 57th overall by the Bos ...

, all of whom were underage players too young to be eligible for the NHL Draft under the rules at the time. After the 1978-79 season, the WHA merged with the NHL. Included in the merger were New England (Hartford), Quebec, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Birmingham and Cincinnati were not brought under the auspices of the NHL and subsequently disbanded, and their underage players were all declared eligible for the upcoming draft. In the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Gingras was drafted 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 ...

. Although he was not picked until the second round, and was 27th overall, he was Montreal's first pick, ahead of other players such as

Mats Näslund Mats Torsten Näslund (born 31 October 1959), nicknamed "Le Petit Viking", is a Swedish former ice hockey player. He played as a left winger. Despite his small size at only five feet and seven inches, Näslund is best known for being one of th ...

Guy Carbonneau Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens ...

and

Rick Wamsley Richard James Wamsley (born May 25, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was the goaltending ...

. Playing first with the

Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atl ...

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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, he joined the Canadiens in the

1979–80 NHL season The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers (l ...

. Gingras played four seasons at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the h ...

, alongside players such as

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

Bob Gainey Robert Michael Gainey (born December 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play, he became a hockey coach and later an executive with ...

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

and

Steve Shutt Stephen John Shutt (born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and NHL Hall of Famer who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 12 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens and 1 season for the Los Angeles King ...

, before being traded to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for 2½ seasons. Possessing a fierce slap shot, he often played 'the point' on the Habs

power play Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to: Sports * Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games * Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket * Power play (cur ...

. In the middle of the 1984–85 season, he was sent by the Leafs down to the AHL where he played for the St. Catharines Saints. He was then traded to the

Sherbrooke Canadiens The Sherbrooke Canadiens were a professional ice hockey team in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They played their home games at the Palais des Sports. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1984 to 1990, and were a farm team of the M ...

, Montreal's farm team. During this time another highlight of Gingras career emerged. Along with other notables, such as

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

, Stéphane Richer,

Brian Skrudland Brian Norman Skrudland (born July 31, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Playing career Junior Skrudland playe ...

and

Ric Nattress Eric James Nattress (born May 25, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League defenceman. He was drafted in the second round, 27th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Nattress played three seasons in the Ontari ...

, they won the

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 curr ...

.1984-85 AHL Playoff Results
/ref> For the 1985–86 season, he returned to the Montreal Canadiens and was part of their

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

winning team that beat 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 ...

four games to one. In the 1987–88 season, he played two games for the Canadiens before moving to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

for almost two seasons. Near the end of the 1988–89 season he moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to play for EHC Biel followed by

Hockey Club Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

in the Italian part of Switzerland. He then moved on to play for

HC Gherdëina Hockey Club Gherdëina, also known as HC Gardena, currently named HC Gherdeina valgardena.it due to sponsorship reasons, is an Italian ice hockey team, which plays in the Alps Hockey League, having formerly played in the top division of Italian i ...

in Italy before returning to Canada to play for the

Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1990 to 1999, and we ...

where he was a player/coach until he retired. He returned to play a few games with the

Chesapeake Icebreakers The Chesapeake Icebreakers were a minor league ice hockey team that played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 to 1999. The Icebreakers were an expansion team that was granted to Upper Marlboro, Maryland for the start of the 1997� ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

in their final season. In his NHL career, Gingras played 476 games scored 61 goals and 174 assists for a total of 235 points while collecting 161

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

minutes in the regular season. In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

he scored 6 goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 52 games and collected 20 penalty minutes.

Personal life

Although retired, Gingras still plays with the NHL Old Timers. He runs clinics to help youth players to become better players and holds one every Sunday in

Dollard-des-Ormeaux Dollard-des-Ormeaux (; commonly referred to as D.D.O. or simply Dollard) is a predominantly English-speaking suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Island of Montreal. The town was named after French martyr Adam ...

, Quebec. In 2007, he went to Salluit,

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; iu, ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homeland of the I ...

to help younger

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

develop their hockey skills. He also trains children for the Montreal Canadiens Hockey School in the Complexe Sportif Bell in Brossard, Montreal. Gaston Gingras is the father of Sebastien Gingras, a defenseman and member of the 2014 Union College National Division I Men's Hockey Championship Team. He is the uncle of former figure skater Jennifer Robinson.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gingras, Gaston 1959 births Living people Birmingham Bulls players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chesapeake Icebreakers players EHC Biel players Fredericton Canadiens players French Quebecers Hamilton Fincups players HC Gardena players HC Lugano players Ice hockey people from Quebec Kitchener Rangers players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Nova Scotia Voyageurs players People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue St. Catharines Saints players St. Louis Blues players Sherbrooke Canadiens players SCL Tigers players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Val Gardena HC players