Claude Vilgrain
Born (1963-03-01) March 1, 1963
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Vancouver Canucks
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 107th overall, 1982
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1988–2002

Claude Vilgrain (born March 1, 1963) is a Haitian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in 89 National Hockey League games with the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He played in the 1988 Winter Olympics for the Canadian national team.

Early life

Vilgrain was born on March 1, 1963, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[1] He was born into an academically inclined family as his great-uncle was a doctor, his grandfather was a judge,[2] and his father was an economist.[3] When he was around one year old, his father Alix moved the family to Quebec City for an economist job after having studied there for seven years.[3] Vilgrain later credited his success in hockey to his parent's willingness to adapt to Canadian culture and allow him to play sports.[4] As he had grown up in a small suburb of Quebec City, Vilgrain first experienced racism while playing junior hockey in Montreal.[5]

Career

Junior

Vilgrain played junior hockey with the Laval Voisins in the QMJHL from 1980 to 1983.[1] He played two seasons alongside future Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux and finished second in team scoring with 126 points.[6] Vilgrain reflected positively on his time as Lemieux's teammate and said he tried to emulate his moves.[4] Despite his on-ice success, Vilgrain said he was thrown by the racial taunts he received during games.[2] Following the 1981–92 season, Vilgrain was drafted in the sixth round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.[7] Vilgrain spent another season with the Voisins, where he scored 46 goals and 80 points to be selected for the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.[8] However, after he was not invited to the Red Wings 1983 training camp and refused to report for another season with the Voisins, the Red Wings left him unsigned to a contract.[4]

Université de Moncton

As an unsigned free agent, Vilgrain decided to continue his education and joined the Moncton Aigles Bleus at the Université de Moncton from 1983 to 1986.[1]

Personal life

Vilgrain's daughter Cassandra also played collegiate ice hockey before joining Brynäs IF of the Swedish Women's Hockey League.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Laval Voisins QMJHL 72 20 31 51 65 — — — — —
1981–82 Laval Voisins QMJHL 58 26 29 55 64 17 14 10 24 22
1982–83 Laval Voisins QMJHL 69 46 80 126 74 12 10 4 14 4
1983–84 Université de Moncton AUS 20 11 20 31 8 — — — — —
1984–85 Université de Moncton AUS 24 35 28 63 20 — — — — —
1985–86 Université de Moncton AUS 19 17 20 37 25 — — — — —
1985–86 Canada Intl 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1986–87 Canada Intl 78 28 42 70 38 — — — — —
1987–88 Canada Intl 67 21 20 41 41 — — — — —
1987–88 Vancouver Canucks NHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1988–89 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 23 9 13 22 26 — — — — —
1988–89 Utica Devils AHL 55 23 30 53 41 5 0 2 2 2
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 6 1 2 3 4 4 0 0 0 0
1989–90 Utica Devils AHL 73 37 52 89 32 — — — — —
1990–91 Utica Devils AHL 59 32 46 78 26 — — — — —
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 71 19 27 46 74 7 1 1 2 17
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 4 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1992–93 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 57 19 26 45 22 — — — — —
1992–93 Utica Devils AHL 22 6 8 14 4 5 0 1 1 0
1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Hershey Bears AHL 76 30 53 83 45 11 1 6 7 2
1994–95 SC Herisau SUI.2 36 27 33 60 44 4 3 2 5 10
1995–96 SC Herisau SUI.2 36 27 41 68 44 5 5 5 10 12
1996–97 SC Herisau SUI.2 42 30 46 76 64 11 9 12 21 10
1997–98 Frankfurt Lions DEL 38 17 13 30 54 7 1 2 3 8
1998–99 SERC Wild Wings DEL 52 16 29 45 26 — — — — —
1999–2000 EHC Biel-Bienne SUI.2 36 26 44 70 16 9 2 10 12 14
2000–01 EHC Biel-Bienne SUI.2 39 25 31 56 20 10 3 5 8 16
2001–02 SC Bern NLA — — — — — 4 2 2 4 0
NHL totals 89 21 32 53 78 11 1 1 2 17
AHL totals 285 128 189 317 148 21 1 9 10 4
SUI.2 totals 189 131 199 330 188 39 22 34 56 62

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1988 Canada OG 6 0 0 0 0
Senior totals 6 0 0 0 0

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Claude Vilgrain". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Vergian, Bill (October 20, 1991). "A Devil's Due". Daily News. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Ross, Rosemarie (January 12, 1992). "A reluctant pioneer". The Herald-News. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "Where to play hockey in Haiti? 'On ice cubes,' Olympian jokes". Times Colonist. January 24, 1988. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ McPhaden, Megan (February 3, 2019). "They would 'make monkey noises': former NHLer reflects on his experience for Black History Month". City News. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ Keating, Jack (June 19, 1987). "Olympic star joins Canuck fold". The Province. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Olson, Arv (June 10, 1982). "A smorgasbord of talent". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Zurkowsky, Herb (May 6, 1983). "Lafontaine, mate only two Juniors on all-star teams". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Cassandra Vilgrain joins Swedish Women's Hockey League". University of British Columbia. May 9, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
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