Joseph Jean Pierre Hamel (born June 6, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 699 games over 12 seasons in the National Hockey League. He played for the St. Louis Blues,

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, Quebec Nordiques, and Montreal Canadiens. Jean is the brother of Gilles Hamel. Hamel was born in

Asbestos, Quebec Val-des-Sources (), meaning "Valley of the Springs", formerly known as Asbestos (), is a town in the Estrie (Eastern Townships) region of southeastern Quebec, Canada on the Nicolet River."Asbestos" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chic ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1965 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Asbestos. Hamel retired from professional hockey in 1984, as a direct result of having sustained two serious eye injuries while playing for the Montreal Canadiens that year — the first, caused by

Louis Sleigher Louis Sleigher (born October 23, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 62 games in one season with the Birmingham Bulls (WHA), Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and 194 games over seven seasons in the ...

's sucker punch during the April 20 "

Good Friday Massacre In ice hockey, the Good Friday Massacre (French: ) was a second-round playoff match-up during the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. The game occurred on Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between the Quebec Nordiques and the Mo ...

", and the second, during an October 4 pre-season match.. When Hamel retired, the Canadiens organization hired him as an assistant coach with their new Sherbrooke Canadiens farm team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Hamel served as an assistant coach, later head coach, during the entire six seasons that the Sherbrooke Canadiens existed as a franchise. During his final two years as head coach, the Sherbrooke Canadiens finished first overall in the AHL for the 1988–89 and 1989–90 AHL regular seasons. Starting the next season, Hamel served as head coach of 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 th ...

, in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, for four seasons. After a four-year break, Hamel returned to his birthplace as head coach with the Asbestos Aztecs, of the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League, for one season (1999–2000).

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Jean 1952 births Adirondack Red Wings players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Denver Spurs players Detroit Red Wings players Drummondville Rangers players Drummondville Voltigeurs coaches Fredericton Express players Ice hockey people from Quebec Kansas City Red Wings players Living people Montreal Canadiens players People from Val-des-Sources Quebec Nordiques players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Canadian ice hockey coaches