Guillaume Desbiens (born April 20, 1985) 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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

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) with 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 (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

As a youth, Desbiens played in the 1999

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 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 Rive-Sud. Desbiens played

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in 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 ...

(QMJHL) with the

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada. The team plays its home games at the Aréna Glencore. The Huskies finished first overall in the QMJHL, durin ...

for four seasons, being drafted 116th overall in 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 ...

by the Atlanta Thrashers after his second year with the Huskies. He turned pro in 2005–06, splitting the season between the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the AHL and the

Gwinnett Gladiators The Atlanta Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately northeast o ...

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 ...

. Despite having signed an NHL contract with the Thrashers, Desbiens did not suit up in any pre-season or regular season games with Atlanta. He played in the Thrashers' farm system between the Wolves and Gladiators until the end of the 2007–08 season, when he was released by his NHL team. Desbiens joined the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

of the AHL as a walk-on in 2008–09. Following his first season with the Moose, he was signed by their

NHL 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 ...

affiliate, the

on July 22, 2009. Assigned to the Moose to start the 2009–10 season, he was recalled by the Canucks after an injury to

Daniel Sedin Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish professional ice hockey executive and former professional ice hockey winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018 ...

and made his NHL debut with the Canucks on October 11, 2009. He played nine-and-a-half minutes on the third line with

Kyle Wellwood Kyle Wellwood (born May 16, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 134th overall in the 2001 NHL E ...

and

Tanner Glass Tanner Glass (born November 29, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Known as a physical player, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguin ...

in a 4–3 win against the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

. After his one-game stint, he was sent back down to the Moose in favour of

Michael Grabner Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 17 and ...

After a training camp where he impressed the Canucks coaching staff, Desbiens made the Canucks' 2010-2011 opening night lineup. He played in every game until November 5, when he broke his hand, sidelining him indefinitely. In the off-season, Desbiens left the Canucks organization and on July 4, 2011, signed a one-year two-way contract with rival the

. He was originally assigned to the Flames affiliate, the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

to begin the 2011–12 season. Whilst leading the Heat in penalty minutes, Desbiens was recalled by the Flames and appeared in 10 games over the course of the campaign to record 25 penalty minutes. On July 30, 2012, Desbiens signed a one-year, two-way contract to return to the Vancouver Canucks organization. He was unable to add to his Canucks experience, as he was assigned directly to familiar affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, for the duration of the

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, leading the Wolves with 118 penalty minutes. Desbiens signed for his fourth NHL team on July 5, 2013, signing as a free agent to one-year, two-way deal 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 ...

. After attending the Avalanche training camp, Desbiens was reassigned 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 ...

, to begin the 2013–14 season. In adding a veteran presence to the Monsters, Desbiens was selected as an Alternate captain, and was primarily used in a bottom six role in providing physicality. Desbiens failed to replicate the offensive presence from earlier in his career, scoring just 8 goals in 62 games but led the team with 200 penalty minutes. Released as a free agent by the Avalanche at season's end, Desbiens opted to begin his European career in agreeing to a one-year deal with Austrian club,

Dornbirner EC Dornbirn Bulldogs is a professional ice hockey team in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria, who formerly played in the Austrian Hockey League (IceHL), the first level of ice hockey in Austria, since 2012. until 2022. The club was founded in 1992 and ...

of the EBEL on August 1, 2014. After one season with Dornbirner, Desbiens opted to continue in the Austrian League, transferring on a one-year deal to Slovenian club,

HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as HDD Olimpija or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana. They played their home games at the Tivoli Hall. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav ch ...

on July 30, 2015. In the 2015–16 season, Desbiens went scoreless in 6 games with HDD before opting to leave the EBEL to sign with British club,

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

of the EIHL on November 22, 2015. Despite signing a new two-year deal with Sheffield in the spring of 2017, Desbiens retired from hockey on May 22, 2017, after receiving a job opportunity back in Minnesota (where he lives). His final appearance for the Steelers was to help them beat Cardiff Devils to win the

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

play-off final in April.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desbiens, Guillaume 1985 births Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Dornbirn Bulldogs players Gwinnett Gladiators players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players Ice hockey people from Quebec Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Manitoba Moose players People from Alma, Quebec Rouyn-Noranda Huskies players Sheffield Steelers players Vancouver Canucks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Slovenia French Quebecers