Michel Ouellet

Not to be confused with Mike Ouellette.

Michel Ouellet
Born	(1982-03-05) March 5, 1982 (age 42) Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Pittsburgh Penguins Tampa Bay Lightning Vancouver Canucks HC Fribourg-Gottéron Hamburg Freezers
NHL draft	124th overall, 2000 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2002–2014

Michel Ouellet (born March 5, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ouellet was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round (124th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

He was drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2000. He was named to the American Hockey League (AHL) All-Rookie Team with the Penguins' minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2004. He has also played in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks.

Playing career

As a youth, Ouellet played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Rimouski Océanic minor ice hockey team. ^[1] He later played for Rimouski Océanic in the QMJHL before being drafted 124th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.^{[ citation needed ]} He spent his first few years out of junior in the minor leagues and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2004. ^[2]

He made his NHL début during the 2005–06 season, playing his first game on November 22, 2005 in a 5–4 victory against the Washington Capitals. Several games later, he scored his first NHL goal and assist in back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres on December 16 and 17. He finished his first NHL season with 16 goals and 16 assists in 50 games. ^[3]

After a career-high 19 goals, 29 assists and 48 points, in 2006–07, Ouellet signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ^[4] On December 14, 2007, he separated his left shoulder after a check from Calgary Flames defenceman Robyn Regehr and missed 18 games. He finished the season with 36 points in 64 games.^{[ citation needed ]}

On September 29, 2008, Ouellet was placed on waivers due to a salary cutting effort by the Lightning. ^[5] He cleared waivers and on October 6, he was traded along with Shane O'Brien to the Vancouver Canucks for Lukáš Krajíček and Juraj Šimek. ^[2] He was immediately assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL), but was recalled by the Canucks on November 3. He was returned to the Moose on November 10, 2008, ^[6] where he completed the season with 40 points in 46 games.

Ouellet became an unrestricted free agent in the 2009 off-season, but went unsigned by an NHL club. He went overseas to Switzerland to play for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League A. On December 21, 2009, Ouellet was named to Team Canada for the 2009 Spengler Cup. ^[7] Canada finished in third place. After a half year Ouellet left Switzerland and signed with German club Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. ^[8]

On July 1, 2011, Ouellet rejoined the Tampa Bay Lightning organization when they signed him as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract. ^[9] During the 2011–12 season, Ouellet failed to add to his NHL experience, however was assigned to the record achieving affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals contributing to their Calder Cup success. Prior to free agency on June 23, 2012, Ouellet was traded by the Lightning to the Boston Bruins, along with a 5th round draft pick, for Benoit Pouliot. ^[10]

Released as a free agent by the Bruins, Ouellet accepted a try-out to the Hamilton Bulldogs training camp for the 2012–13 season on September 26, 2012. He was subsequently released upon completion of camp, ^[11] due to the high number of players already under contract in the Bulldogs' camp. ^[12]

After several months of free agency, Ouellet was offered a one-year contract with the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH on December 21, 2012. He finished out his playing career after two seasons in the LNAH. ^[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Jonquière Élites	QMAAA		33	20	32	52	52		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		28	7	13	20	10		11	0	1	1	6
1999–2000	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		72	36	53	89	38		14	4	5	9	14
2000–01	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		63	42	50	92	50		11	6	7	13	8
2001–02	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		61	40	58	98	66		7	3	6	9	4
2002–03	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		55	20	26	46	40		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		4	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		79	30	19	49	34		22	2	10	12	0
2004–05	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		80	31	32	63	56		11	2	3	5	6
2005–06	Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		19	10	20	30	12		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		50	16	16	32	16		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		73	19	29	48	30		5	0	2	2	6
2007–08	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		64	17	19	36	12		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Manitoba Moose	AHL		46	13	27	40	30		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NLA		11	1	4	5	4		5	1	1	2	4
2010–11	Hamburg Freezers	DEL		39	11	17	28	24		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		55	16	15	31	41		14	1	3	4	6
2012–13	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH		24	19	22	41	2		5	3	2	5	0
2013–14	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH		37	18	39	57	8		17	9	15	24	16
AHL totals				283	100	115	215	173		47	5	16	21	12
NHL totals				190	52	64	116	58		5	0	2	2	6

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010	Team Canada	SC			2	0	0	0	0
Senior totals					2	0	0	0	0

Awards and honours

Award	Year
CHL
QMJHL Champion (Rimouski Oceanic)	2000
Memorial Cup	2000
AHL
All-Rookie Team	2004
All-Star Game	2005
Calder Cup (Norfolk Admirals)	2012
LNAH
Most Gentlemanly Player	2013

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
2. "Canucks acquire Shane O'Brien and Michel Ouellet". Vancouver Canucks. October 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
3. Michel Ouellet: „Sid ist ein cooler Typ!“ ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Fitting into the Bay area". July 26, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
5. "Ouellet waived". TampaBay.com. September 29, 2008. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
6. "Canucks recall Michel Ouellet". Vancouver Canucks. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "Dubielewicz added to Spengler Cup roster". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 21, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
8. "Ex-Pittsburgh Penguin Michel Ouellet joins Freezer" (in German). Hamburg Freezers. April 14, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. "Ouellet returns to Lightning organization". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
10. "Bruins trade Pouliot to Lightning". ESPN. June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
11. "Hamilton Bulldogs release 14 from training camp". Hamilton Bulldogs. October 3, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
12. "Un ancien de la LNH avec l'Isothermic". LNAH. December 21, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2012.

External links

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