Aaron Gagnon

Aaron Gagnon
Born (1986-04-24) April 24, 1986
Quesnel, BC, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams
Lukko
Dallas Stars
Winnipeg Jets
HV71
NHL Draft 240th overall, 2004
Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career 2007present

Aaron Gagnon (born April 24, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, who plays for Lukko in the Finnish Liiga.

Early life

Gagnon was born on April 24, 1986 in Quesnel, British Columbia to parents Kelly and Barry Gagnon.[1] Despite being born in Quesnel, Gagnon was raised in Armstrong, British Columbia.[1] Gagnon has a sister, Jillian, and a brother, Bryn.[1] His brother Bryn is also an ice hockey player, having played for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League and currently a member of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans of the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference.[2]

Playing career

Junior

Gagnon was drafted in the 5th round, 83rd overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2001 WHL Bantam Draft.[3] In the season immediately following the draft, Gagnon played in 2 games with the Thunderbirds, while spending most of the season with his North Okanagan Midget AA team of the BCAHA where he scored 59 goals and 118 points in only 41 games to lead the team in scoring.[4] One year later, Gagnon began his rookie season with Seattle. In 60 games, Gagnon scored 18 points while adding another 5 points in 15 playoff games. Gagnon's sophomore season was a large improvement over his rookie campaign. With 36 points in 63 games, Gagnon doubled his previous seasons' point total. Gagnon's defensive game also improved, as he led the Thunderbirds in plus/minus with a plus-18.[4]

Gagnon's third season in the WHL proved to be one of his most successful. After setting new career highs in goals (31), assists (34), and points (65) in 72 games, Gagnon was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team and was named the Western Conference nomination for the Brad Hornung Trophy as the WHL's most sportsmanlike player of the year,[5] an award he ultimately lost to Kris Russell of the Medicine Hat Tigers.[6]

On September 22, 2005, just prior to the start of his fourth full WHL season, Gagnon was named captain of the Thunderbirds.[7]

Gagnon's final season with the Thunderbirds was arguably the best of his WHL career. Serving once again as the Thunderbirds' captain, Gagnon finished the season with career highs in goals (42), assists (38), and points (80) in only 59 games. During the season, Gagnon was twice named the Boston Pizza WHL Player of the Week and was also named the Husky WHL Player of the Month for December.[8] At the completion of the regular season, Gagnon was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team[9] and was the Western Conference nomination for both the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL's MVP, and the Brad Hornung Trophy as the WHL's most sportsmanlike player of the year.[10] For the second time in his WHL career, Gagnon lost out on an award to Kris Russell of the Medicine Hat Tigers, losing the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy; however, Gagnon did manage to win his first Brad Hornung Trophy.[11]

Professional

Gagnon was drafted in the eighth round, 240th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. On February 2, 2007, Gagnon signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars.[12]

On July 1, 2011, Gagnon signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets.[13]

In early August 2013, after spending his first five professional seasons in North America, Gagnon signed for two-years with the Swedish Hockey League team HV71, joing Riley Holzapfel whom he played with in St. John's IceCaps.[14] In the 2013–14 season, Gagnon appeared in only 9 games with HV71 before opting to transfer to the Finnish Liiga with Lukko Rauma.

International play

On April 1, 2004, Gagnon was named to the Canadian roster for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships in Minsk, Belarus.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 2 0 0 0 0
2002–03 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 60 5 13 18 14 15 3 2 5 4
2003–04 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 63 21 15 36 29
2004–05 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 72 31 34 65 29 12 4 5 9 16
2005–06 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 62 24 21 45 40 7 5 3 8 6
2006–07 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 59 42 38 80 58 11 6 2 8 10
2007–08 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 22 7 14 21 4 4 1 1 2 2
2007–08 Iowa Stars AHL 25 0 1 1 8
2008–09 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 8 11 19 28 10 1 2 3 2
2009–10 Texas Stars AHL 78 27 31 58 42 24 8 4 12 18
2009–10 Dallas Stars NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Texas Stars AHL 58 14 23 37 24 6 2 2 4 4
2010–11 Dallas Stars NHL 19 0 2 2 0
2011–12 St. John's IceCaps AHL 63 14 20 34 14 15 5 4 9 6
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL 7 0 0 0 0
2012–13 St. John's IceCaps AHL 43 11 13 24 18
2012–13 Winnipeg Jets NHL 10 3 0 3 2
2013–14 HV71 SHL 9 2 1 3 4
NHL totals 38 3 2 5 2

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Canada WJC18 7 0 3 3 10
Junior Int'l totals 7 0 3 3 10

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 Drinnan, Gregg (2005-02-26). "It felt like a home game for two Thunderbirds". Kamloops Daily News.
  2. "Bryn Gagnon". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  3. "Bantam Draft". Seattle Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  4. 1 2 "Aaron Gagnon". Seattle Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  5. "WHL Announces 2004–05 Award Finalists and Conference All-Star Teams" (Press release). Western Hockey League. March 23, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  6. "Western Hockey League Announces 2004–05 Annual Award Winners" (Press release). Western Hockey League. May 4, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  7. "Gagnon named T-Birds 2005–06 captain". OurSports Central. 2005-09-22. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  8. "Aaron Gagnon, Seattle Thunderbirds: Feb 19 – Feb 25" (Press release). Western Hockey League. February 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  9. "WHL Announces 2006–07 Conference All Star Teams" (Press release). Western Hockey League. March 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  10. "Gagnon and Russell Named WHL Player of the Year Finalists" (Press release). Western Hockey League. April 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  11. Riley, Jim (2007-02-08). "Gagnon, Beach take home WHL awards". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  12. "Stars Sign Center Aaron Gagnon to Three-Year Deal" (Press release). Dallas Stars. February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  13. Tait, Ed. "Jets proceed cautiously in free-agent market". National Post. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  14. Wengel, Daniel (2013-08-07). "Gagnon blir sista pusselbiten". HV71.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  15. "Canada's 2004 World Under-18 Championship Roster Named" (Press release). Hockey Canada. April 1, 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-11.

External links


Awards
Preceded by
Kris Russell
Winner of the WHL Brad Hornung Trophy
2007
Succeeded by
Tyler Ennis
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