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Wayne Gagné

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wayne Gagné
Born (1964-06-27) June 27, 1964 (age 60)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 173 lb (78 kg; 12 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Sherbrooke Canadiens
Baltimore Skipjacks
Peoria Rivermen
Kalamazoo Wings
NHL draft 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1983–1994

Wayne Gagné (born June 27, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.

Career

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Wayne Gagné began his college career at Western Michigan in 1983 in Bill Wilkinson's second recruiting class. The small defenseman was an instant hit for the Broncos, scoring 43 points in 41 games in his freshman season. After declining slightly in his sophomore year he exploded for 76 points as a junior, leading all defensemen in scoring and becoming the first AHCA First Team All-American for Western Michigan (with Dan Dorion).[1] Gagné was instrumental in helping WMU win their first CCHA Tournament, being named to the All-Tournament Team,[2] as well as their first NCAA Tournament appearance.[3]

Gagné performed even better in his senior season, finishing the year with the NCAA record for assists (76) for any position and points (89) for a defenseman in a season.[4] Additionally, he also finished with the most career assists (199) and second most points for a defenseman (241) behind only Ron Wilson (Records current as of 2019). Gagné was named as the CCHA Player of the Year and was Runner-Up for the Hobey Baker Award.[5]

After graduating Gagné played briefly for the Canadian National Team before beginning his professional career. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft.[6] He played at the top level of minor league hockey in North America for two seasons, putting up good numbers, but his small stature was an impediment for NHL teams who mostly employed large players as defensemen. With the NHL an unlikely possibility, Gagné headed to Europe in 1989, playing two seasons with SC Lyss. He finished second in team scoring both seasons, helping the team to stave off relegation twice.[7]

Gagné spent the final three seasons of his career playing for five teams in five countries, ending as the leading scorer for Hellerup IK in 1994.

Honors

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Gagné was inducted into the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and was named to the CCHA All-Time First Team in 2013.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 Western Michigan Broncos NCAA 41 8 35 43 32
1984–85 Western Michigan Broncos NCAA 33 4 29 33 46
1985–86 Western Michigan Broncos NCAA 43 17 59 76 37
1986–87 Western Michigan Broncos NCAA 43 13 76 89 38
1986–87 Team Canada International 3 0 1 1 6
1987–88 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 14 0 4 4 8
1987–88 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 58 8 31 39 30
1987–88 Peoria Rivermen IHL 7 1 2 3 8 7 1 4 5 15
1988–89 Peoria Rivermen IHL 64 8 41 49 58 4 1 2 3 6
1989–90 SC Lyss NLB 33 18 28 46 64
1990–91 SC Lyss NLB 34 21 29 50 36
1991–92 HC Sierre NLB 19 9 11 20 18
1991–92 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 3 0 4 4 2
1991–92 Brantford Smoke CoHL 12 5 8 13 21
1992–93 Gunco Panda's Rotterdam Netherlands 7 5 2 7 4
1992–93 Brantford Smoke CoHL 21 1 12 13 6 12 2 10 12 2
1993–94 Hellerup IK Denmark 26 13 25 38 58
NCAA totals 160 42 199 241 153
NLB totals 86 48 68 116 118

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-CCHA First Team 1985–86 [8]
AHCA East First Team All-American 1985–86 [9]
CCHA All-Tournament Team 1986 [2]
All-CCHA First Team 1986–87 [8]
AHCA East First Team All-American 1986–87 [9]

References

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  1. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  3. ^ "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  4. ^ "NCAA - All-time season". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "WMU Legend Wayne Gagne Named to CCHA All-Time First Team". Western Michigan Broncos. March 15, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  6. ^ "NHL supplemental draft". New York Daily News. June 26, 1987. Retrieved 7 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "SC Lyss". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "All-CCHA Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  9. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by CCHA Player of the Year
1986–87
Succeeded by