Alexandre R. Picard

This article is about the hockey defenceman. For the left winger of the same name, see Alexandre Picard (ice hockey).

Alexandre R. Picard
Picard with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011
Born	(1985-07-05) July 5, 1985 (age 38) Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	222 lb (101 kg; 15 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning Ottawa Senators Carolina Hurricanes Montreal Canadiens Pittsburgh Penguins HC Lev Praha Graz 99ers ERC Ingolstadt HC Fribourg-Gottéron Düsseldorfer EG
NHL Draft	85th overall, 2003 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2005–2019

Alexandre Remi Picard (born July 5, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

As a youth, Picard played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Outaouais Intrepides minor ice hockey team. ^[1]

Picard began his career by playing major junior hockey for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. The team was highly successful while he was there, even helping them reach the President's Cup finals in 2002–03. In fact, following that season, he was one of eight players on the team chosen in 2003 NHL Entry Draft. ^[2] However, he was among several players traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, but returned to the Mooseheads for his final season in the QMJHL.

Following the post-season, Picard went to Philadelphia, and began to work-out with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, who were in the Calder Cup finals. When teammate Randy Jones was injured in game two, he was signed to an amateur tryout contract to fill the roster spot. So, Picard played alongside veteran John Slaney in about a dozen shifts in games three and four to help the Phantoms sweep the Chicago Wolves.^{[ citation needed ]}

A month later, the Flyers announced that they had signed Picard to a three-year contract to fill the spot left on the Phantoms roster by Patrick Sharp. So, Picard played his first full professional season for the Phantoms, and also played six games for the Flyers in four stints. He was also called up to be backup for the Flyers during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.^{[ citation needed ]}

Picard began the 2006–07 NHL season with the Phantoms, but after just six games, he was called up to replace the injured Mike Rathje and began his rookie season in the NHL. Picard proved he could stay in the NHL when, on February 1, 2007, he recorded five assists in a game against the New Jersey Devils, setting a new rookie record and nearly tying the franchise record set by Eric Lindros. ^[3]

Picard was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 25, 2008 (along with a draft pick), for forward Vaclav Prospal. ^[4]

On August 29, 2008, Picard was traded to the Ottawa Senators along with Filip Kuba and a first round draft pick for Andrej Meszaros. On February 12, 2010, Picard, who had been a healthy scratch for much of the season, along with Ottawa's second round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, were traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Matt Cullen. ^[5]

On July 31, 2010, Picard signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. ^[6]

On July 5, 2011, Picard was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $600,000 at the NHL level. ^[7] He split the 2011–12 season between Pittsburgh and AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, appearing in 17 NHL games for 4 assists.^{[ citation needed ]}

Picard who was in a familiar role as a free agent at season's end, embarked upon a European career, signing with Czech club, HC Lev Praha of the Kontinental Hockey League. Picard followed his season in the KHL with stints in Austria and Germany before continuing his journeyman career by signing a two-year contract with Swiss club, HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the NLA on June 19, 2015. ^[8]

When his contract was up in Switzerland, he moved back to Germany, signing with DEL outfit Düsseldorfer EG in April 2017. ^[9]

Following his second season with DEG in 2018–19 and after a first round defeat to Augsburger Panther, Picard announced his retirement from a 14-year professional playing career. ^[10]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Gatineau L'Intrépide	QMAAA		42	6	15	21	38		11	0	1	1	8
2001–02	Halifax Mooseheads	QMJHL		59	2	12	14	28		13	2	3	5	6
2002–03	Halifax Mooseheads	QMJHL		71	4	30	34	64		25	1	5	6	14
2003–04	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles	QMJHL		57	10	26	36	44		5	0	0	0	0
2004–05	Halifax Mooseheads	QMJHL		68	15	23	38	46		13	1	5	6	14
2004–05	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		2	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		75	7	26	33	82		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		6	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		6	1	2	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	3	19	22	17		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		53	8	30	38	31		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		20	3	3	6	8		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Ottawa Senators	NHL		47	6	8	14	8		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Ottawa Senators	NHL		45	4	11	15	20		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		9	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
2010−11	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		43	3	5	8	17		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		43	8	13	21	20		12	0	6	6	6
2011−12	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		17	0	4	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HC Lev Praha	KHL		11	1	1	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Graz 99ers	EBEL		43	3	16	19	50		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL		29	0	13	13	24		18	3	6	9	10
2015–16	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NLA		37	2	7	9	2		5	0	2	2	2
2016–17	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NLA		35	1	4	5	12		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL		45	1	10	11	16		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL		50	0	8	8	30		7	0	1	1	8
AHL totals				178	24	71	95	135		14	0	6	6	6
NHL totals				253	19	50	69	86		—	—	—	—	—

Awards and honours

Award	Year
QMJHL
Second All-Star Team	2005

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
2. "Mooseheads Team History". Halifax Mooseheads. January 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 14, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
3. "Devils 6, Flyers 5, OT". NHL.com. February 1, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
4. "Flyers Acquire Vaclav Prospal". NHL.com. February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
5. LeBrun, Pierre (February 12, 2010). "Canes acquire Picard plus 2010 pick". espn.in. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
6. "Picard signs one-year deal". Montreal Canadiens. July 31, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
7. Vukovcan, Mike (June 6, 2011). "Pens Sign Alexandre Picard". pittsburgh.cbslocal.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
8. "Alexandre Picard avec Fribourg-Gottéron pour 2015/2016". HC Fribourg-Gottéron (in French). June 19, 2015. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
9. "Düsseldorfer EG: Ehemaliger NHL-Profi Picard unterschreibt für ein Jahr". RP ONLINE. April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
10. "How DEG will plan its future" (in German). rp-online.de. April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database