Aaron Gagnon

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Aaron Gagnon
Aaron Gagnon Iowa.jpg
Gagnon with the Iowa Stars in 2007
Born (1986-04-24) April 24, 1986 (age 37)
Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Dallas Stars
Winnipeg Jets
HV71
Lukko
SC Bern
SCL Tigers
NHL Draft 240th overall, 2004
Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career 2007–2020

Aaron Gagnon (born April 24, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

Contents

Early life

Gagnon was born on April 24, 1986, in Quesnel, British Columbia, to parents Kelly and Barry Gagnon. [1] He 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, joining 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. He stayed at Lukko until January 25, 2017, and then moved to SC Bern of the National League (NL), where he inked a deal for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. [15]

After three seasons with the SCL Tigers, he played his last professional season in 2020-21 with Swedish Allsvenskan club, Modo Hockey. [16]

International play

On April 1, 2004, Gagnon was named to the Canadian roster for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships in Minsk, Belarus. [17]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2001–02 Enderby Ice Kings KIJHL 61010—————
2001–02 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 20000—————
2002–03 Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL605131814153254
2003–04 Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL6321153629—————
2004–05 Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL72313465291245916
2005–06 Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL622421454075386
2006–07 Seattle ThunderbirdsWHL59423880581162810
2007–08 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 2271421441122
2007–08 Iowa Stars AHL 250118—————
2008–09 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL618111928101232
2009–10 Texas Stars AHL782731584224841218
2009–10 Dallas Stars NHL 20000—————
2010–11 Texas StarsAHL581423372462244
2010–11 Dallas StarsNHL190220—————
2011–12 St. John's IceCaps AHL6314203414155496
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL70000—————
2012–13 St. John's IceCapsAHL4311132418—————
2012–13 Winnipeg JetsNHL103032—————
2013–14 HV71 SHL 92134—————
2013–14 Lukko Liiga 481719362015561414
2014–15 LukkoLiiga47141630281437106
2015–16 LukkoLiiga602523483650002
2016–17 LukkoLiiga4311152624—————
2016–17 SC Bern NLA 73252120330
2017–18 SCL Tigers NL4616112720—————
2018–19 SCL TigersNL391414282271120
2019–20 SCL TigersNL141454—————
2020–21 Modo Hockey Allsv 92136—————
AHL totals32874981721345516122830
NHL totals383252—————
Liiga totals1986773140108348162422

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2004 Canada WJC18 4th703310
Junior totals703310

Awards and honours

AwardYear
WHL
West First All-Star Team 2005
West First All-Star Team 2007
Brad Hornung Trophy 2007

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Drinnan, Gregg (February 26, 2005). "It felt like a home game for two Thunderbirds". Kamloops Daily News.
  2. ↑ "Bryn Gagnon". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Bantam Draft". Seattle Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Aaron Gagnon". Seattle Thunderbirds. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  5. ↑ "WHL Announces 2004–05 Award Finalists and Conference All-Star Teams" (Press release). Western Hockey League. March 23, 2005. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Western Hockey League Announces 2004–05 Annual Award Winners" (Press release). Western Hockey League. May 4, 2005. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Gagnon named T-Birds 2005–06 captain". OurSports Central. September 22, 2005. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Aaron Gagnon, Seattle Thunderbirds: Feb 19 – Feb 25" (Press release). Western Hockey League. February 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  9. ↑ "WHL Announces 2006–07 Conference All Star Teams" (Press release). Western Hockey League. March 22, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Gagnon and Russell Named WHL Player of the Year Finalists" (Press release). Western Hockey League. April 18, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  11. ↑ Riley, Jim (February 8, 2007). "Gagnon, Beach take home WHL awards". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Stars Sign Center Aaron Gagnon to Three-Year Deal" (Press release). Dallas Stars. February 2, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  13. ↑ Tait, Ed. "Jets proceed cautiously in free-agent market". National Post. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  14. ↑ Wengel, Daniel (August 7, 2013). "Gagnon blir sista pusselbiten". HV71.se (in Swedish). Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Aaron Gagnon bis zum Saisonende beim SCB". SCB Eishockey AG (in German). Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Aaron Gagnon avslutar karriären – efter bara nio matcher i Modo". November 9, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Canada's 2004 World Under-18 Championship Roster Named" (Press release). Hockey Canada. April 1, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
Awards
Preceded by Winner of the WHL Brad Hornung Trophy
2007 		Succeeded by
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