Gatineau Olympiques facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gatineau OlympiquesOlympiques de Gatineau |
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| City | Gatineau, Quebec |
| League | Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League |
| Division | Telus West |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Home arena | Centre Slush Puppie |
| Colours | Black, white and silver |
| General manager | Serge Beausoleil |
| Head coach | Alexis Loiseau |
| Championships | 1997 Memorial Cup Champions 1986, 1988, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2008 QMJHL Champions |
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Website olympiquesdegatineau.ca |
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| Franchise history | |
| 1969–1970 | Hull Hawks |
| 1970–1976 | Hull Festivals |
| 1976–2003 | Hull Olympiques |
| 2003–present | Gatineau Olympiques |
The Gatineau Olympiques are a Canadian junior ice hockey team. They play in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team is based in Gatineau, Quebec. Since the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play their home games at the Centre Slush Puppie. Before that, they played at the Robert Guertin Centre. The club first joined the QMJHL in 1973. Back then, they were known as the Hull Festivals. The Olympiques have played in the Memorial Cup seven times. They won the championship in 1997 Memorial Cup.
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Team History
The Gatineau Olympiques team has a long history. Before joining the QMJHL, they were part of the Central Junior A Hockey League. The team had a few different names back then. They were first called the Hull Blackhawks. Later, they became the Hull Beavers and then Hull-Volant Junior A.
In 1973, the team joined the QMJHL and changed their name to the Hull Festivals. In 1976, they became the Hull Olympiques. The city of Hull joined with Gatineau in 2002. One year later, the team changed its name to the Gatineau Olympiques.
The Olympiques share their junior hockey market with the Ottawa 67's. This team is located across the Ottawa River. These two teams often played against each other in pre-season games from 1975 to 1986. They have also played regular season games since 1999.
The Olympiques have won the President's Cup seven times. Their most recent win was in the 2007–08 season. They have reached the Memorial Cup finals four times. They lost three times (in 1986, 2003, and 2004). But they won the 1997 Memorial Cup, which they also hosted.
From 1985 to 1992, the famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky owned the Olympiques. Under his ownership, the team started using black, silver, and white as their team colors. These colors were similar to the Los Angeles Kings, where Gretzky played in 1988.
In 2010, former Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx returned to the team. He became both the general manager and head coach. For the 2011–12 season, the Olympiques went back to their black, silver, and white colors.
In 2016, Coach Groulx left again to coach the Syracuse Crunch. Mario Duhamel took over as coach but only stayed for 47 games. He was then replaced by assistant coach Éric Landry.
Team Championships
The Gatineau Olympiques have won many championships. Here are their biggest wins and appearances:
Memorial Cup
This is the championship for all of Canada's top junior hockey teams.
- 1986 – They were finalists against the Guelph Platers.
- 1988 – They finished 3rd in the tournament.
- 1995 – They finished 4th in the tournament.
- 1997 – They were the Champions against the Lethbridge Hurricanes!
- 2003 – They were finalists against the Kitchener Rangers.
- 2004 – They were finalists against the Kelowna Rockets.
- 2008 – They finished 4th in the tournament.
President's Cup – This is the championship for the QMJHL playoffs.
- 1985–86 – Champions against the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
- 1987–88 – Champions against the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
- 1994–95 – Champions against the Laval Titan Collège Français.
- 1996–97 – Champions against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.
- 1998–99 – Finalist against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
- 1999–00 – Finalist against the Rimouski Océanic.
- 2002–03 – Champions against the Halifax Mooseheads.
- 2003–04 – Champions against the Moncton Wildcats.
- 2007–08 – Champions against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
- 2010–11 – Finalist against the Saint John Sea Dogs.
Jean Rougeau Trophy – This trophy is given to the team with the best record in the regular season.
- 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 2003–04
Division titles – These are awarded for winning their specific division in the regular season.
- 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2021–22, 2022–23
Famous Coaches
Many great coaches have led the Olympiques. Some well-known coaches include Jean Bégin, Pat Burns, John Chabot, Benoit Groulx, Claude Julien, Bob Mongrain, Marcel Pronovost, Guy Trottier, and Alain Vigneault.
Team Names Over the Years
The team has had a few different names since it started:
- Hull Hawks (1969–1970)
- Hull Festivals (1970–1976)
- Hull Olympiques (1976–2003)
- Gatineau Olympiques (2003–present)
Players Who Made it to the NHL
Many players from the Olympiques have gone on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). No player from the "Hull Hawks" played in the NHL.
- Hull Castors (1968–1969)
- Hull Festivals (1970–1976)
- Ted Bulley
- Nelson Burton
- Richard David
- André Doré
- Pierre Giroux
- Glen Sharpley
- Brent Tremblay
- Hull Olympiques (1976–2003)
- Jeff Allan
- Joel Baillargeon
- Yves Beaudoin
- Francis Bélanger
- Martin Biron
- Michel Bolduc
- Sébastien Bordeleau
- Martin Brochu
- Paul Brousseau
- Benoît Brunet
- Jim Campbell
- John Chabot
- Stéphane Charbonneau
- Sylvain Côté
- Jonathan Delisle
- Matthieu Descoteaux
- André Doré
- Christian Dubé
- Gordie Dwyer
- Karl Dykhuis
- Jiri Fischer
- Steven Fletcher
- Michel Galarneau
- Jean-Marc Gaulin
- Jocelyn Gauvreau
- Martin Gélinas
- Martin Gendron
- Rick Hayward
- Aleš Hemský
- Jean-François Labbé
- Marc LaBelle
- Mario Larocque
- Eric Lavigne
- John LeBlanc
- Shane MacEachern
- Don MacLean
- Paul MacLean
- Craig Martin
- Stéphane Matteau
- Andrew McKim
- Jan Nemecek
- Lee Norwood
- Jason Pominville
- Stéphane Quintal
- André Racicot
- Peter Ratchuk
- Alain Raymond
- Stéphane Richer
- Serge Roberge
- Luc Robitaille
- Jeremy Roenick
- Roberto Romano
- Pavel Rosa
- Jean-Marc Routhier
- Cam Russell
- Michael Ryder
- Philippe Sauvé
- Daniel Shank
- Martin Simard
- Maxime Talbot
- José Théodore
- Pascal Trepanier
- Jean-Guy Trudel
- Sylvain Turgeon
- Alain Vigneault
- Radim Vrbata
- Colin White
- Peter Worrell
- Gatineau Olympiques (since 2003)
- Vitaly Abramov
- Paul Byron
- Alexandre Carrier
- Philippe Dupuis
- Claude Giroux
- Mike Hoffman
- Tomas Hyka
- David Krejci
- Tristan Luneau
- Zack MacEwen
- Tye McGinn
- Nicolas Meloche
- Doug O'Brien
- Jean-Gabriel Pageau
- Emile Poirier
- Joel Rechlicz
- Maxime Talbot
- Yakov Trenin
- Francis Wathier
- Valentin Zykov
Retired Numbers
The Olympiques have honored ten players by retiring their jersey numbers. This means no other player on the team will wear that number again. Former coach Pat Burns has also been honored.
- # 10 Jean Poulin
- # 15 Luc Robitaille
- # 16 Sam Lang
- # 20 Martin Gelinas
- # 24 Colin White
- # 25 Maxime Talbot
- # 28 Claude Giroux
- # 32 Marc Saumier
- # 33 José Théodore
- # 77 Guy Rouleau
Images for kids
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Old Hull Olympiques logo
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Original Gatineau Olympiques logo
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Banners of honored alumni at the Robert Guertin Centre
