Michel Daniel Picard (born November 7, 1969) 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 ...

player. Picard 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 ...

with the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

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 ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

. , he serves as an amateur scout for the Blues.

Playing career

As a youth, Picard played in the 1981 and 1982

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, ...

s 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 Beauport, Quebec City. Picard began his career playing for

Trois-Rivières Draveurs The Trois-Rivières Draveurs ("Raftmen") were a Canadian junior ice hockey team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They played home games at the Colisée de Trois-Rivières, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The team was origina ...

in the

QMJHL 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 le ...

, where he established himself as a scoring force who was also tough and hard hitting. His final year there he scored 140 points in 66 games. Picard was drafted by the Whalers in the 9th round, 178th overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He met with great success in the minor leagues, leading 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 ...

with a franchise-record 56 goals for the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

in 1991, while leading the team to its final

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 ...

championship. However, Picard would never translate his earlier success to the NHL. He never played a full season in the NHL and only played in at least half of the games in a season once, during the 1999 season. That season he also played in five playoff games, the only time he played in the NHL playoffs. For the 2002 season Picard played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany for the Adler Mannheim. He then played for two years with the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

(a team for which he played parts of six seasons in all, and is the career leader in goals, assists and points) in the AHL before joining Thetford Mines Prolab of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey in 2004. He led the team in scoring in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and was the leading scorer in the LNAH in the 2007 season, retiring after the end of the 2009 season. As of November 2014, Picard is the 16th leading goal scorer in minor league history with 56

as well as 19th in points with 1256.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Michel 1969 births Living people Adler Mannheim players Binghamton Whalers Canadian ice hockey left wingers Edmonton Oilers players Frölunda HC players Grand Rapids Griffins players Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) players Hartford Whalers draft picks Hartford Whalers players Kansas City Blades players Ottawa Senators players Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players Prince Edward Island Senators players St. Louis Blues players St. Louis Blues scouts San Jose Sharks players Springfield Indians players Trois-Rivières Draveurs players Ice hockey people from Quebec City Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden