Joël Chouinard (born April 8, 1990) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL).

Playing career

Chouinard played

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

with the

Victoriaville Tigres The Victoriaville Tigres are a Canadian junior ice hockey team that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Victoriaville, Quebec. The team plays its home games at the Colisée Desjardins. History The franchis ...

. He was drafted 167th overall in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL entry draft was the 46th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL entry draft ...

by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. In the 2009–10 season, after leading the

QMJHL The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

with 23 goals scored among defensemen and helping the Tigres to an equal franchise best season of 46 wins, he was selected to the QMJHL First All-Star Team and named as a finalist for the

Emile Bouchard Trophy The Émile Bouchard Trophy is awarded annually by the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to the player judged to be the best "Defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily r ...

as the league's best defenseman. Off the ice Joel was awarded the Paul Dumont Trophy as the Leagues personality of the year. Chouinard was signed by the Colorado Avalanche to a three-year entry-level contract on May 26, 2010. After attending the Avalanche's 2010 training camp, he was then assigned and began his professional career with their affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

of the

in the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season. With his first two professional seasons hampered by injury, Chouinard again had a disrupted pre-season and began the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season familiarly on the sidelines. Upon returning to health, Chouinard was reassigned by the Avalanche from the Monsters to second tier affiliation, the Denver Cutthroats of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. In 42 games with the Cutthroats, he placed second amongst blueliners in scoring with 6 goals and 20 points. At the conclusion of his contract Chouinard's right's were relinquished with the Avalanche, and on August 20, 2013, he was signed as a free agent to a one-year AHL deal with the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the Bulldogs played home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purc ...

. In the 2013-14 season with the Bulldogs, Chouinard appeared in a career high 67 games with 2 goals and 9 points. On September 11, 2014, Chouinard signed a one-year contract with the

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games ...

of the ECHL. On January 5, 2015, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

signed Chouinard to a professional try out. Prior to signing a professional try out with the Griffins, Chouinard led all defenceman in scoring, recording five goals and 15 assists in 31 games with Toledo this season. On September 2, 2015, the Toledo Walleye re-signed Chouinard to a one-year contract extension. During the 2014–15 season, he recorded five goals and 15 assists in 34 games with the Walleye, and eight assists in 19 postseason games. He also appeared in 29 games at the AHL level, with two games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, and 27 for the Iowa Wild, where he recorded five goals and ten assists. On February 12, 2016, the Grand Rapids Griffins signed Chouinard to a professional try out. Prior to signing a professional try out with the Griffins, Chouinard led all Toledo Walleye defenceman in scoring, recording six goals and 19 assists in 38 games. On March 4, 2016, the Griffins signed Chouinard to a standard player's contract. He scored the game-winning goal in his Griffins debut, a 4–3 win at Iowa on February 13. On March 10, Chouinard was assigned to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Since joining the Griffins on a professional try out, he has recorded one goal and two assists in eight games. On March 30, Chouinard was recalled by the Griffins. As a free agent in the off-season, Chouinard opted to continue in the ECHL, leaving the Walleye to sign with reigning Champions, the

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Allen Event Center, Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009–10 CHL season, 2009 in the Centr ...

on August 2, 2016. Chouinard played three seasons with the Americans, featuring as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, for the last two before opting to end his 9-year professional career following the 2018–19 season.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chouinard, Joel 1990 births Living people Allen Americans players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Denver Cutthroats players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Iowa Wild players Lake Erie Monsters players Ice hockey people from Longueuil Toledo Walleye players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Victoriaville Tigres players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen