Mathieu Darche (born November 26, 1976) 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 rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player who played for several AHL and

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 ...

clubs. Mathieu is the younger brother of

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point at ...

J. P. Darche Jean-Philippe "J. P." Darche (born February 28, 1975) is a former American football long snapper. He was signed and drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in 1999. He played CIS football at McGill. Darche has also played for the Seattle Seahawks and K ...

. After attending the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

training camp in January 2013, he was asked to stay with the team but ultimately chose to retire.

Hockey career

Amateur

Darche played hockey at

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ...

and graduated in 1996. He has a commerce degree in marketing and international business from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. While attending university, Darche played four seasons of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) hockey, where in his last year, he was named the CIS Outstanding student-athlete and was awarded the

Dr. Randy Gregg Award The Dr. Randy Gregg Award is presented annually by U Sports to reward excellence in the student-athlete. The Canadian University ice hockey player who receives this award has exhibited outstanding achievement in ice hockey, academics, and community ...

Professional

During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Darche spent a full season with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since ...

of the AHL. He played for the

Füchse Duisburg The ''Füchse Duisburg'' are a German ice hockey team formerly a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and currently plays in the Oberliga. History Known in English as the "Duisburg Foxes," the team was founded in 1971. In 2005, they earned p ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL) in 2005–06 and also split four seasons between the

and AHL with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

, and their affiliates. In 2006–07, he played a few games with the

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 & Entertain ...

of the NHL but spent most of the season playing for the team's AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks. In 2007–08, Darche played with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. After starting the 2009–10 season playing for its AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs he was recalled and played his first game as a Canadien on January 20, 2010, versus the St. Louis Blues and scored his first goal for the team on January 22 versus the

, which was a game-winning goal.

Managerial

Darche served as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing in Canada for Delmar International Inc. before becoming the Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 6, 2019.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darche, Mathieu 1976 births Living people Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Columbus Blue Jackets players Füchse Duisburg players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Montreal McGill Redmen ice hockey players Milwaukee Admirals players Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players Norfolk Admirals players People from Saint-Laurent, Quebec Portland Pirates players San Jose Sharks players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players Undrafted National Hockey League players Worcester Sharks players Canadian ice hockey left wingers