Gatineau Olympiques

Gatineau Olympiques
Olympiques de Gatineau
CityGatineau, Quebec
LeagueQuebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
DivisionTelus West
Founded1969
Home arenaCentre Slush Puppie
ColoursBlack, white and silver
     
General managerSerge Beausoleil
Head coachAlexis Loiseau
Websiteolympiquesdegatineau.ca
Franchise history
1969–1970Hull Hawks
1970–1976Hull Festivals
1976–2003Hull Olympiques
2003–presentGatineau Olympiques
Championships
Playoff championships1997 Memorial Cup Champions
1986, 1988, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2008 QMJHL Champions

The Gatineau Olympiques are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Puppie,[1] having previously played at the Robert Guertin Centre dating back to its beginnings in the Central Junior A Hockey League. The club, then known as the Hull Festivals, was granted membership in the QMJHL in 1973. The Olympiques have appeared in the Memorial Cup seven times, winning the 1997 Memorial Cup.

History

Before joining the QMJHL, the team was a member of the Central Junior A Hockey League, known originally as the Hull Blackhawks (Les Éperviers de Hull) but later as the Hull Beavers (Les Castors de Hull) and Hull-Volant Junior A. Originally Hull and the CJHL were eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup, the Major Junior crown, but were relegated to Tier II Junior "A" in 1970. The season before joining the QMJHL in 1973 they became the Hull Festivals, and in 1976, they became the Hull Olympiques; the team name was changed to the Gatineau Olympiques one year after the city of Hull was amalgamated into Gatineau in 2002.

The Olympiques share a junior hockey market with the Ottawa 67's, across the Ottawa River. Pre-season games between the two teams were a regular occurrence from 1975 to 1986.[2] The teams have played interleague regular-season home and home games in the 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2009–10 seasons since.[3]

The Olympiques have won the President's Cup seven times, most recently in 2007–08. The team has been to four Memorial Cup finals, losing three (1986, 2003 and 2004) and winning the 1997 Memorial Cup, which they also hosted.

From 1985 until 1992, the Olympiques were owned by Wayne Gretzky; it was under his ownership that the team first adopted black, silver and white as their team colours, similar to those of the Los Angeles Kings, whom Gretzky played for in 1988.

On May 31, 2010, it was announced that former Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx, who had left the organization to coach the Rochester Americans would be returning to be the general manager and head coach.[4]

For the 2011–12 season, the Olympiques returned to the colours of black, silver and white following an eight-year absence. [5]

In 2016, coach Groulx left the Olympiques again to become the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch. He was replaced by Mario Duhamel who would only coach 47 games with a 19–24–4 record. Duhamel was replaced by assistant coach Éric Landry.[6]

Championships

Memorial Cup
Canadian Hockey League champions

President's Cup – League playoff champions

Jean Rougeau Trophy – Regular season champions

  • 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 2003–04

Division titles – Regular season champions

  • 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2021–22, 2022–23

Coaches

Notable coaches for the Olympiques include, Jean Bégin, Pat Burns, John Chabot, Benoit Groulx, Claude Julien, Bob Mongrain, Marcel Pronovost, Guy Trottier, and Alain Vigneault.

Season-by-season record

  • Hull Hawks (1969–1970)
  • Hull Festivals (1970–1976)[7]
  • Hull Olympiques (1976–2003)[8]
  • Gatineau Olympiques (2003–present)[9]

Regular season

Complete results before 1969 unavailable.

OL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss, Pct = Winning percentage
Season Games Won Lost Tied OL SL Points Pct Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing
1969–70 40 8 24 8 - - 24 0.300 149 199 5th, CJAHL
1970–71 48 21 20 7 - - 49 0.510 255 238 3rd, CJAHL
1971–72 48 16 31 1 - - 33 0.344 178 269 5th, CJAHL
1972–73 55 7 45 3 - - 17 0.155 192 338 6th, CJAHL
1973–74 70 14 55 1 - - 29 0.207 226 405 6th, West
1974–75 72 34 32 6 - - 74 0.514 386 369 4th, West
1975–76 72 30 35 7 - - 67 0.465 312 318 4th, West
1976–77 72 26 37 9 - - 61 0.424 283 333 5th, Lebel
1977–78 72 34 34 4 - - 72 0.500 357 397 5th, Lebel
1978–79 72 10 55 7 - - 27 0.188 262 491 5th, Lebel
1979–80 72 25 35 12 - - 62 0.431 336 378 3rd, Lebel
1980–81 72 23 46 3 - - 49 0.340 262 353 4th, Lebel
1981–82 64 41 21 2 - - 84 0.656 343 260 2nd, QMJHL
1982–83 70 30 40 0 - - 60 0.429 393 406 5th, Lebel
1983–84 70 25 45 0 - - 50 0.357 301 411 6th, Lebel
1984–85 68 33 34 1 - - 71 0.493 347 352 2nd, Lebel
1985–86 72 54 18 0 - - 108 0.750 423 262 1st, Lebel
1986–87 70 26 39 5 - - 57 0.407 286 323 4th, Lebel
1987–88 70 43 23 4 - - 90 0.643 380 394 1st, Lebel
1988–89 70 40 25 5 - - 85 0.607 329 264 3rd, QMJHL
1989–90 70 36 29 5 - - 77 0.550 306 282 6th, QMJHL
1990–91 70 36 27 7 - - 79 0.564 263 235 2nd, Lebel
1991–92 70 41 24 5 - - 87 0.621 331 259 2nd, Lebel
1992–93 70 40 28 2 - - 82 0.586 296 268 2nd, Lebel
1993–94 72 38 31 3 - - 79 0.549 310 304 3rd, Lebel
1994–95 72 42 28 2 - - 86 0.597 340 274 2nd, Lebel
1995–96 70 52 16 2 - - 106 0.757 347 246 2nd, Lebel
1996–97 70 48 19 3 - - 99 0.707 346 205 1st, Lebel
1997–98 70 32 37 1 - - 65 0.464 270 268 6th, Lebel
1998–99 70 23 38 9 - - 55 0.393 276 298 6th, Lebel
1999–2000 72 42 24 6 0 - 90 0.625 339 256 1st, West
2000–01 72 34 28 7 3 - 78 0.542 288 284 3rd, West
2001–02 72 33 30 3 6 - 75 0.521 230 253 1st, West
2002–03 72 39 27 4 2 - 84 0.583 266 222 2nd, West
2003–04 70 50 13 7 0 - 107 0.764 306 179 1st, Western
2004–05 70 33 28 5 4 - 75 0.536 216 237 3rd, Western
2005–06 70 40 23 - 4 3 87 0.621 261 215 4th, Western
2006–07 70 39 27 - 2 2 82 0.586 303 274 3rd, Telus
2007–08 70 43 19 - 6 2 94 0.664 272 209 3rd, Telus
2008–09 68 38 25 - 2 3 81 0.559 232 232 1st, Western
2009–10 68 30 33 - 1 4 65 0.441 213 217 3rd, Telus West
2010–11 68 43 17 - 3 5 94 0.691 243 193 3rd, Telus West
2011–12 68 26 32 - 5 5 62 0.456 223 274 4th, Telus West
2012–13 68 29 34 - 1 4 63 0.463 220 265 5th, Telus West
2013–14 68 41 23 - 1 3 86 0.632 254 218 4th, Telus West
2014–15 68 31 31 - 0 6 68 0.500 234 242 5th, West
2015–16 68 46 19 - 2 1 95 0.699 250 173 3rd, West
2016–17 68 33 31 - 4 0 70 0.515 234 253 3rd, West
2017–18 68 32 27 - 5 4 73 0.537 213 215 5th, West
2018–19 68 23 39 - 4 2 52 0.382 194 248 4th, West
2019–20 64 22 37 - 5 0 49 0.383 204 247 4th, West
2020–21 31 16 11 - 2 2 36 0.581 95 87 4th, West
2021–22 68 39 15 - 11 3 92 0.676 248 193 2nd, West
2022–23 68 49 12 - 5 2 105 0.772 304 197 2nd, West

NHL alumni

Lists of National Hockey League alumni. No player from the "Hull Hawks" went on the play in the NHL.

Hull Castors (1968–1969)
Hull Festivals (1970–1976)[10]
Hull Olympiques (1976–2003)[11]
Gatineau Olympiques (since 2003)[12][13]

Retired numbers

Five banners in white whith black and silver trim hanging vertically from the celing of the arena
Banners of honoured alumni at the Robert Guertin Centre

Ten Olympiques players have had their numbers retired by the team. Former coach Pat Burns has also been honoured.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Inauguration vendredi du Centre Slush Puppie : la fin d'une longue saga" [Friday inauguration of the Slush Puppie Center: the end of a long saga]. Radio-Canada (in French). August 20, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Yzerman, Chris (January 24, 2000), "67's outwork Olympiques", Ottawa Citizen, pp. C3
  3. ^ "Sidelines", Ottawa Citizen, pp. B8, June 20, 2003
  4. ^ "Confirmé...Benoît Groulx de retour à Gatineau... Par Stéphane Leroux - LE GRAND CLUB". Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  5. ^ "LaPresse.ca - Actualités, Arts, International, Débats, Sports, Vivre, Voyage". La Presse. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "Olympiques fire head coach Duhamel". Ottawa Sun. January 23, 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
  7. ^ "Hull Festivals season-by-season on hockeydb.com". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008.
  8. ^ "Hull Olympiques season-by-season on hockeydb.com". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008.
  9. ^ "Gatineau Olympiques season-by-season on hockeydb.com". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008.
  10. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Players by Team -- Hull Festivals". Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  11. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Players by Team -- Hull Olympiques". Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  12. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Players by Team -- Gatineau Olympiques". Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  13. ^ "NHL – Les Olympiques de Gatineau". en.olympiquesdegatineau.ca. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
  14. ^ "In Honour of Pat Burns!". Retrieved September 9, 2020.
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