Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre |
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Grand-Pierre with Füchse Duisburg in 2006
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| Born | February 2, 1977 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
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| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg; 16 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | NHL Buffalo Sabres Columbus Blue Jackets Atlanta Thrashers Washington Capitals DEL Füchse Duisburg DEG Metro Stars Swe-1 Troja/Ljungby Leksands IF Malmö Redhawks Karlskrona HK GET Stjernen Oberliga Füchse Duisburg |
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| NHL Draft | 179th overall, 1995 St. Louis Blues |
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| Playing career | 1997–2013 | ||
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (born February 2, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. A defenceman is a player who helps protect their team's goal. Today, he works as a studio analyst for the Columbus Blue Jackets on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, sharing his hockey knowledge on TV.
He was chosen by the St. Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. This means he was the 179th player picked overall that year. He once won a speed skating competition at the AHL All-Star Game, even beating famous players like Martin St. Louis.
Hockey Career Highlights
After playing four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre started his professional career. He joined the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the 1997–98 season. In that season, he scored ten points and spent a lot of time in the penalty box, showing he was a tough player.
Playing in the NHL
In the 1998–99 season, Grand-Pierre made his debut in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. He played in 16 games that year. He continued to play for the Sabres in the 1999–2000 season.
Later, he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. He played three full seasons with Columbus. In the 2003–04 season, he played for three different NHL teams: the Blue Jackets, the Atlanta Thrashers, and the Washington Capitals. Overall, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre played in 269 NHL games. He scored seven goals and made 13 assists during his time in the league.
Playing in Europe
After his NHL career, Grand-Pierre moved to Germany for the 2005–06 season. He played for Füchse Duisburg in Germany's top league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The next season, he joined the DEG Metro Stars.
In 2007, he signed with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. However, he spent that entire season playing for their AHL team, the Lowell Devils. In 2008, he went back to play for Füchse Duisburg in Germany.
In 2009, he signed a one-year deal with Leksands IF in Sweden's second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. He also played ten games for Stjernen in Norway's GET-ligaen that same year.
For a short time in 2010, Grand-Pierre played for the Finnish team TPS. He was released from the Leksands IF team in 2011. Soon after, he signed a one-year contract with another Swedish team, the Malmö Redhawks.
Personal Life and Interests
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre has Haitian family roots. He is a cousin of another well-known hockey player, Georges Laraque.
Outside of hockey, Grand-Pierre is a licensed real estate agent in Ohio. This means he helps people buy and sell homes. He works for HER Real Living and The Raines Group.
In January 2024, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre became a citizen of the United States.
