Martin Gélinas

Canadian, born on June 5, 1970 in Shawinigan (Quebec). Left winger who stood 5-foot-10 and 194 pounds during his junior career. He was selected in the first round, 2nd overall by the Hull Olympiques at the 1987 QMJHL Draft. At the 1988 NHL Draft he was chosen in the first round, 7th overall by the Los Angeles Kings.

QMJHL Team as a player

Hull Olympiques (1987-88 & 1988-89)

Renowned as a speedster, Martin Gélinas didn’t spend much time in the QMJHL, but he sure made the most of his time there.

Over his two seasons with the Hull Olympiques, the first-round pick piled up 208 regular-season points and added another 42 in the playoffs for an eye-popping total of 250 points in only 132 games. Gélinas also notched 10 hat-tricks along the way.

In his rookie QMJHL season in 1987-88, he was quickly shown all the confidence in the world by his head coach Alain Vigneault. He would go on average two points per game with 131 points and 63 goals. He was also named on the league’s First All-Star Team at left wing. Gelinas’ accolades didn’t end there as he was also named CHL Rookie of the Year.

During the 1988 QMJHL playoffs, the Olympiques would go on to claim the President Cup and the 17-year-old Shawinigan native would sure do his part with 15 goals and 18 assists.

At the 1988 NHL Draft, he was the first round pick of the Los Angeles Kings. However only a few weeks later, the Kings would include him in the package of players they sent to

Edmonton Oilers in the blockbuster trade that brought the game’s greatest player Wayne Gretzky to L.A.

In the autumn of 1988, an 18-year-old Gélinas played in six NHL games before being returned to the junior ranks where he scored 38 goals and 77 points in only 41 games. That season he also donned his nation’s colours at the 1989 World Junior Hockey Championships where he helped lead Canada to a fourth-place finish.

At age 19, he made the jump to the NHL for good, launching a long career that would span from 1989-90 to 2007-08. He would go on to play in 1,273 games over that time, scoring a combined 309 goals and 660 points.

In May 1990, he saw his name engraved onto the Stanley Cup following the Oilers triumph over the Bruins in the Cup Final. That would prove to be the only time he would win hockey’s ultimate prize, but he did return to the Stanley Cup Finals on three other occasions: with Vancouver in 1994, Carolina in 2002 and Calgary in 2004.

Since 2012, Gélinas has been an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames.

Martin Gélinas will be inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in the “Player” category on April 8, 2015.