Jean-Pierre Vigier (born September 11, 1976) 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 ...

. He 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) for the Atlanta Thrashers and in Switzerland's

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

for

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

and

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. For the 18th year in a row, the club is the mos ...

between 2000 and 2012. Vigier served as captain for SC Bern during away games.

Playing career

Vigier spent four seasons at

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

before signing as a

free-agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the Atlanta Thrashers of the

. He began his professorial career in the International Hockey League with the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

. Vigier played parts of two season with the Solar Bears helping them to win the

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

in 2001. He also made his NHL debut during the 2000–01 season, one of only two games he played at the NHL level that year. Following the 2000–01 season Vigier joined 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

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 ...

(AHL). While with the Wolves he helped them win 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 cur ...

in 2002, scoring 14 points in 21 play-off games. He split time between the Wolves and Thrashers for the next two seasons before becoming an NHL regular during the 2003–04 season. Vigier returned to the AHL for the 2004–05 season following the news that the

2004–05 NHL season The 2004–05 NHL season was the National Hockey League's 88th season of operation. The entire 1,230-game schedule, that was set to begin in October, was officially canceled on February 16, 2005 due to an unresolved lockout that began on Septe ...

was canceled due to the

labor dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during co ...

. He went on to score 29 goals and 70 points while posting a career best plus-26, the successful season earned him AHL Second All-Star Team honors. He again helped the Wolves to the Calder Cup finals, registering 11 points in 18 play-off games. However, the Wolves were swept in the Calder Cup finals by 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 ...

. Vigier returned to the NHL following the lockout but was limited to only 41 games due to a broken foot and a knee injury. He was re-signed by the Thrashers to a one-year deal in the off-season. He played in 72 games during 2006–07 season scoring 5 goals and 13 points. In 2007, he signed with

in Switzerland where he played for two seasons, scoring a total of 67 points. He joined National League A rival

on 18 June 2009.

International career

Vigier has represented Canada three times as a member of Team Canada at the 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and 2009

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss tea ...

tournaments. Winning the Spengler Cup in 2007.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vigier, J. P. 1976 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Franco-Manitoban people Genève-Servette HC players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players People from Central Plains Region, Manitoba Portage Terriers players SC Bern players Undrafted National Hockey League players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland