Michel Ouellet

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.

Michel Ouellet
Born (1982-03-05) March 5, 1982
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

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. 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.

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 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 28 7 13 20 10 11 0 1 1 6
1999–00 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
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!“
  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.
  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.
  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.
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