Jonathan Girard (born May 27, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who played for the Boston Bruins of the

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 ...

. Girard was born in

Rawdon, Quebec Rawdon is a municipality located on the Ouareau River in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. It is the seat for the Matawinie Regional County Municipality, Regional County Municipality of Matawinie, in the Lanaudiè ...

and raised in

Joliette Joliette is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of Greate ...

, Quebec.

Playing career

As a youth, Girard played in the 1993 and 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Sélects-du-Nord minor ice hockey team. A defenceman, Girard played junior hockey for the

Laval Titan Collège Français The Laval Titan was one of the names used by a junior ice hockey team 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'' ...

(later the Acadie-Bathurst Titan) of the QMJHL and was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the Bruins in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

). He played 150 games over five seasons with Boston, scoring 10 goals and recording 34 assists. He also spent time with the

Moncton Wildcats The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, known as the Moncton Alpines for one season, and as the Wildcats ...

of the QMJHL and the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

, Boston's AHL affiliate. On July 24, 2003, Girard was driving near his hometown in Quebec when he lost control of his car and it flipped over. Girard required surgery for a

broken pelvis A pelvic fracture is a break of the bony structure of the pelvis. This includes any break of the sacrum, hip bones (ischium, pubis, ilium), or tailbone. Symptoms include pain, particularly with movement. Complications may include internal ble ...

. While at the time it was not known if Girard would ever play hockey again, he showed tremendous resilience in returning to skating at the Bruins' practice facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts in March, 2004. However, the loss of the 2004–05 NHL season due to a

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

nullified his attempt at a return to hockey that year. Girard signed a one year contract with the Bruins on August 10, 2005, and played one game with Providence in the AHL on October 15, 2005. On November 30, Girard announced his decision to retire, having fully recovered from his injuries but unable to play professional hockey again.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1980 births Acadie–Bathurst Titan players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Quebec Laval Titan Collège Français players Living people Moncton Wildcats players People from Joliette Sportspeople from Lanaudière Providence Bruins players French Quebecers {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1980s-stub