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| Gilbert Dionne | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1970-09-19)September 19, 1970 (age 55) Drummondville,Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens Philadelphia Flyers Florida Panthers Cincinnati Cyclones | ||
| NHL draft | 81st overall,1990 Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 1990–2006 | ||
Gilbert Dionne (born September 19, 1970) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeyleft winger who played six seasons in theNational Hockey League from1990–91 until1995–96. He is the younger brother ofHockey Hall of FamerMarcel Dionne, who is nineteen years his senior.
Dionne was born on September 19, 1970, inDrummondville,Quebec,[1] as the youngest child of Gilbert Sr. and Laurette Dionne.[2] Given the 19-year age gap between Dionne and his eldest brotherMarcel, they did not grow up together and rarely saw each other.[3] As a youth, he described Marcel as "my great brother that I never see."[4]
As a youth, Dionne played in the 1982 and 1983Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with aminor ice hockey team fromDrummondville.[5] Due to his eldest brothers stardom, Dionne was often unfairly treated by coaches, opposing players, and fans.[6][2] After experiencing a growth spurt at 15,[2] Dionne left Quebec forNiagara Falls, Ontario.[7] He left on Marcel's suggestion that he learn English and to further separate himself from his brothers reputation.[8] After failing to make the Junior-A squad, Dionne was assigned to the Junior-BNiagara Falls Canucks.[7][9] However, his skating was still a concern and he spent a year playing midget hockey before joining the Canucks.[7] While living in Niagara Falls, Dionne attendedÉcole secondaire Confédération[8] and learned English from his teammates.[4] To further separate himself from his brother, Dionne did not tell anyone about his familal connections in his first year with the Canucks.[10]
Following his rookie season, Dionne was drafted in the 19th round, 253rd pick overall, by theKitchener Rangers in the 1987Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft.[7] Part of the reason for his late pick was that the Rangers expected Dionne to return to Montreal.[8] In his second year with the Canucks, Dionne ranked ninth in the league with 36 goals and 84 points through 38 games.[7]
Dionne was drafted in the fourth round, 81st overall, by his hometownMontreal Canadiens in the1990 NHL Entry Draft.[11] Following the draft, Dionne signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens.[12] He was then assigned to theirAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theFredericton Canadiens, for the1990–91 season.[13] He quickly established himself on the "Baby Habs Kid Line" withPatrick Lebeau andJesse Bélanger.[14] He scored seven goals by mid-November before being called up to the NHL level as a replacement forBrian Skrudland.[15] He made his NHL debut on November 19 against theQuebec Nordiques.[16] He rejoined the Fredericton Canadiens the following day.[17] By January 1991, Dionne ranked among the top scorers in the AHL with 16 goals and 40 points.[18] He earned another one-game recall on March 18 and skated in the Canadiens 4-2 loss to theEdmonton Oilers.[19]
After showing up to the Canadiens training camp out of shape,[20] Dionne was assigned to the Fredericton Canadiens to start the1991–92 season.[21] On December 22, 1991, Dionne was called up to the NHL level as a replacement forMario Roberge. At the time of the call-up, Dionne was leading the AHL Canadiens in scoring with 19 goals and 27 assists.[22] He scored his first career NHL goal on December 29, in a 3–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.[23] While playing with the NHL Canadiens, Dionne earned $135,000, a significant increase from the $33,000 he earned with Fredericton.[24] He recorded his first career NHLhat-trick on February 26 against theMinnesota North Stars, which gave him 11 goals over 24 games.[25][26] By the end of March, Dionne ranked among the top 10 in rookie scoring with 34 points[27] and was named to theNHL All-Rookie Team.[28] He scored two goals in his1992 Stanley Cup playoffs debut against theHartford Whalers.[29]
In January 1995, Dionne upset his teammates after describing some as "playing like chickens with their heads cut off" to the media after he was made a healthy scratch.[30][31] While he gave an apology to the team,[31] it was a driving factor towards his trade to thePhiladelphia Flyers on February 9, 1995.[32] At the time of trade, Dionne had recorded three points in six games.[33]
Overall, he played 223 career NHL games, scoring 61 goals and 79 assists for 140 points.[1]
Sent down to the minor leagues thereafter, he remained a minor league star, playing seven more seasons in theAmerican Hockey League andInternational Hockey League before closing out his professional career with two seasons in Germany.[1]
His jersey number (21) was retired by theCincinnati Cyclones of theECHL on December 2, 2006, in recognition of "Gilbert Dionne Day".[34]
Dionne and his wife Heather have five children together.[34]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1986–87 | Niagara Falls Canucks | GHL | 17 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Niagara Falls Canucks | GHL | 36 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 66 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1989–90 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 64 | 48 | 57 | 105 | 85 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 22 | ||
| 1989–90 | Kitchener Rangers | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 77 | 40 | 47 | 87 | 62 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 39 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 1991–92 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 29 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 63 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 20 | ||
| 1992–93 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 20 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Carolina Monarchs | AHL | 55 | 43 | 58 | 101 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Carolina Monarchs | AHL | 72 | 41 | 47 | 88 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 76 | 42 | 57 | 99 | 54 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 28 | ||
| 1998–99 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 76 | 35 | 53 | 88 | 123 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 81 | 34 | 49 | 83 | 88 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 80 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 57 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Hannover Scorpions | DEL | 51 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Cambridge Hornets | OHA-Sr. | 17 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cambridge Hornets | OHA-Sr. | 25 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Cambridge Hornets | MLH | 19 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 223 | 61 | 79 | 140 | 108 | 39 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 34 | ||||
| AHL totals | 236 | 147 | 182 | 329 | 180 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | ||||
| IHL totals | 313 | 134 | 202 | 336 | 311 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 42 | ||||