The Shawinigan Cataractes (french: Cataractes de Shawinigan) are a

junior ice hockey 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 ...

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'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

. The team is based in

Shawinigan Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) an ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The Cataractes have been previously known as the Shawinigan Bruins until 1973, and were called the Shawinigan Dynamos from 1973 to 1978. The Cataractes play their home games at the

Centre Gervais Auto The Centre Gervais Auto is a 4,125-seat multi-purpose arena in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada that opened on December 27, 2008 and has been the home of the Shawinigan Cataractes since 2008. When the Shawinigan Cataractes played their first-ever game i ...

. The former home of the team was

Aréna Jacques Plante The Arena Jacques Plante was a 2,524-seat (total capacity 3,700) multi-purpose arena in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1937. It was home to the Shawinigan Cataractes Ice hockey team. The arena is named in honour of Jacques Plante; fo ...

. Over the course of their 43-year history, they did not win any League championships or

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

s until they were chosen to host the 2012 Memorial Cup tournament, as they became only the second team to play in the tie-breaker and win in overtime in front of a sellout hometown crowd.

Etymology

"Cataractes" is the plural form of "cataracte", which means in English 'cataract' in the sense of a powerful waterfall, derived from the Latin word "cataracta" meaning 'waterfall' or 'portcullis'. The team is named after the Shawinigan Falls, a prominent waterfall in the city of Shawinigan.

NHL alumni

* Yves Beaudoin * Anthony Beauvillier * Jean-Claude Bergeron *

Marc-André Bergeron Joseph Marc-André Bergeron (born October 13, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) before spending the later years of his career with the ZSC Lions of the Nati ...

* Yves Bergeron * Alexandre Bolduc * Michaël Bournival *

Mathieu Biron Mathieu Biron (born April 29, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 250 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). After retiring as a hockey player, he became a firefighter. Playing career As a youth, Biron p ...

Michel Brière Michel Edouard Brière (October 21, 1949 – April 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for one season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Following his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brière was involved in a car ...

Alexandre Burrows Alexandre Ménard-Burrows (born April 11, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators. He is currently an assistant coach for th ...

* Stéphane Charbonneau *

Mathieu Chouinard Mathieu Chouinard (born April 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played one game in the National Hockey League, with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2003–04 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from ...

Enrico Ciccone Enrico Pasquale Ciccone (born April 10, 1970) is a Canadian politician and former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He currently represents Marquette as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party. Hoc ...

Matthieu Descoteaux Matthieu Andre Jean Marc Luc Descoteaux (born September 23, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens. Playing career As a youth, Descoteaux played i ...

Samuel Girard Samuel Girard (born June 26, 1996) is a Canadian retired short-track speed skater. Girard is the reigning Olympic champion and first Canadian to win the Olympic gold in the 1,000 m. He won four medals, three silver and two bronze at the Wor ...

* Benoit Gosselin * Mario Gosselin *

François Groleau François Groleau (born January 23, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eight games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens over three seasons between 1996 and 1997. The rest of his career, w ...

* Stéphane Guérard * Jean-François Jomphe * Patrick Lalime *

Patrick Lebeau Patrick Mikael Lebeau (born March 17, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He represented Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal. He has played professionally in the National Hockey League with the Mont ...

Stéphan Lebeau Stéphan Armand Lebeau (born February 28, 1968) is a former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1988–89 NHL season, 1988–89 to 1994–95 NHL season, 1994–95. He won ...

Patrice Lefebvre Patrice Lefebvre (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian-born Italian former ice hockey player. Lefebvre played three games in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals during the 1998–99 NHL season. Biography Lefebvre was born in Mont ...

* Zbynek Michalek * Olivier Michaud *

Sergio Momesso Sergio Francesco Momesso (born September 4, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 13 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1983 and 1997. Playing career Blessed with size and a mean streak to go with a sof ...

* Stéphane Morin *

Paul Pageau Paul Pageau (born October 1, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in one National Hockey League game for the Los Angeles Kings during the 1980–81 NHL season. As a youth, Pageau played in the 1972 Quebec Int ...

* Steve Penney *

Timo Pielmeier Timo Pielmeier (born July 7, 1989) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender, currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was a third-round selection of the San Jo ...

Jason Pominville Jason John Pominville (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian- American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur As a youth, ...

Daniel Poudrier Daniel Poudrier (born February 15, 1964) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 25 games in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques. Poudrier was born in Thetford Mines, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1 ...

Claude Pronovost Joseph Georges Claude Pronovost (born July 22, 1935) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who played three games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens between 1956 and 1959, serving as an emergency goali ...

* Jean-François Quintin * Pierre Rioux * Stéphane Robidas *

Dominic Roussel Dominic Roussel (born February 22, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Edmonton Oilers ...

Daniel Shank Daniel Shank (born May 12, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League. After playing four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Shank made his professional debut with the Adiron ...

* Patrick Traverse *

Radim Vrbata Radim Vrbata (born 13 June 1981) is a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger. He had a 16-year career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Vrbata was originally drafted in 1999 by the Colorado Avalanche, with whom he has also played, al ...

Season results

*1969–73 Shawinigan Bruins *1973–78 Shawinigan Dynamos *1978–present Shawinigan Cataractes Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss ^†Seeded 8th in Eastern Division for 2006–07 playoffs. ^††Seeded 5th in Telus Division for 2008–09 playoffs.

External links

Official Site
{{Quebec Sports Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Quebec Shawinigan Ice hockey clubs established in 1969 1969 establishments in Quebec