Gatineau Olympiques

The Gatineau Olympiques are a major junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, that plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Puppie, having previously played at the Robert Guertin Centre dating back to its beginnings in the Central Junior A Hockey League. The club, then known as the Hull Festivals, was granted membership in the QMJHL in 1973. The Olympiques have appeared in the Memorial Cup seven times, winning once in 1997. Over eighty former players and coaches have gone on to play or coach in the National Hockey League (NHL), including Martin Biron, Aleš Hemský, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Luc Robitaille, Jeremy Roenick, Michael Ryder, Maxime Talbot, José Théodore, Colin White, Claude Giroux, David Krejčí, Jack Adams-winning head coaches Alain Vigneault and Pat Burns, and 2011 Stanley Cup-winning coach Claude Julien.
==History==
Before joining the QMJHL, the team was a member of the Central Junior A Hockey League, known originally as the Hull Blackhawks (Les Éperviers de Hull) but later as the Hull Beavers (Les Castors de Hull) and Hull-Volant Junior A. Originally Hull and the CJHL were eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup, the Major Junior crown, but were relegated to Tier II Junior "A" in 1970. The season before joining the QMJHL in 1973 they became the Hull Festivals, and in 1976, they became the Hull Olympiques; the team name was changed to the Gatineau Olympiques one year after the city of Hull was amalgamated into Gatineau in 2002.
The Olympiques share a junior hockey market with the Ottawa 67's, across the Ottawa River. Pre-season games between the two teams were a regular occurrence from 1975 to 1986. The teams have played interleague regular-season home and home games in the 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2009–10 seasons since.
The Olympiques have won the President's Cup seven times, most recently in 2007–08. The team has been to four Memorial Cup finals, losing three (1986, 2003 and 2004) and winning the 1997 Memorial Cup, which they also hosted.
From 1985 until 1992, the Olympiques were owned by Wayne Gretzky; it was under his ownership that the team first adopted black, silver and white as their team colours, similar to those of the Los Angeles Kings, whom Gretzky played for in 1988.
On May 31, 2010, it was announced that former Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx, who had left the organization to coach the Rochester Americans would be returning to be the general manager and head coach.
For the 2011–12 season, the Olympiques returned to the colours of black, silver and white following an eight-year absence.
In 2016, coach Groulx left the Olympiques again to become the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch. He was replaced by Mario Duhamel who would only coach 47 games with a 19–24–4 record. Duhamel was replaced by assistant coach Éric Landry.
Prior to the move to the Centre Slush Puppie the team was forced to play the 2020-21 QMJHL season out of the Arena Baribeau due to the Centre Robert Guertin being used as an emergency homeless shelter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
===Championships===
Memorial Cup Canadian Hockey League champions
* 1986 – Finalist vs. Guelph Platers
* 1988 – 3rd place in tournament
* 1995 – 4th place in tournament
* 1997 – Champions vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes
* 2003 – Finalist vs. Kitchener Rangers
* 2004 – Finalist vs. Kelowna Rockets
* 2008 – 4th place in tournament
President's Cup – League playoff champions
* 1985–86 – Champions vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs
* 1987–88 – Champions vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs
* 1994–95 – Champions vs. Laval Titan Collège Français
* 1996–97 – Champions vs. Chicoutimi Saguenéens
* 1998–99 – Finalist vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan
* 1999–00 – Finalist vs. Rimouski Océanic
* 2002–03 – Champions vs. Halifax Mooseheads
* 2003–04 – Champions vs. Moncton Wildcats
* 2007–08 – Champions vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
* 2010–11 – Finalist vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Jean Rougeau Trophy – Regular season champions
* 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 2003–04
Division titles – Regular season champions
* 1985–86, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2021–22, 2022–23
==Coaches==
Notable coaches for the Olympiques include, Jean Bégin, Pat Burns, John Chabot, Benoit Groulx, Claude Julien, Bob Mongrain, Marcel Pronovost, Guy Trottier, and Alain Vigneault.
==Season-by-season record==
* Hull Hawks (1969–1970)
* Hull Festivals (1970–1976)
* Hull Olympiques (1976–2003)
* Gatineau Olympiques (2003–present)
===Regular season===
Complete results before 1969 unavailable.
:OL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss, Pct = Winning percentage
Season 	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OL	SL	Points	Pct 	Goalsfor	Goalsagainst	Standing
1969–70 	40 	8 	24 	8 	- 	- 	24 	0.300	149 	199 	5th, CJAHL
1970–71 	48 	21 	20 	7 	- 	- 	49 	0.510	255 	238 	3rd, CJAHL
1971–72 	48 	16 	31 	1 	- 	- 	33 	0.344	178 	269 	5th, CJAHL
1972–73 	55 	7 	45 	3 	- 	- 	17 	0.155	192 	338 	6th, CJAHL
1973–74 	70 	14 	55 	1 	- 	- 	29 	0.207	226 	405 	6th, West
1974–75 	72 	34 	32 	6 	- 	- 	74 	0.514	386 	369 	4th, West
1975–76 	72 	30 	35 	7 	- 	- 	67 	0.465	312 	318 	4th, West
1976–77 	72 	26 	37 	9 	- 	- 	61 	0.424	283 	333 	5th, Lebel
1977–78 	72 	34 	34 	4 	- 	- 	72 	0.500	357 	397 	5th, Lebel
1978–79 	72 	10 	55 	7 	- 	- 	27 	0.188	262 	491 	5th, Lebel
1979–80 	72 	25 	35 	12 	- 	- 	62 	0.431	336 	378 	3rd, Lebel
1980–81 	72 	23 	46 	3 	- 	- 	49 	0.340	262 	353 	4th, Lebel
1981–82 	64 	41 	21 	2 	- 	- 	84 	0.656	343 	260 	2nd, QMJHL
1982–83 	70 	30 	40 	0 	- 	- 	60 	0.429	393 	406 	5th, Lebel
1983–84 	70 	25 	45 	0 	- 	- 	50 	0.357	301 	411 	6th, Lebel
1984–85 	68 	33 	34 	1 	- 	- 	71 	0.493	347 	352 	2nd, Lebel
1985–86 	72 	54 	18 	0 	- 	- 	108 	0.750	423 	262 	1st, Lebel
1986–87 	70 	26 	39 	5 	- 	- 	57 	0.407	286 	323 	4th, Lebel
1987–88 	70 	43 	23 	4 	- 	- 	90 	0.643	380 	394 	1st, Lebel
1988–89 	70 	40 	25 	5 	- 	- 	85 	0.607	329 	264 	3rd, QMJHL
1989–90 	70 	36 	29 	5 	- 	- 	77 	0.550	306 	282 	6th, QMJHL
1990–91 	70 	36 	27 	7 	- 	- 	79 	0.564	263 	235 	2nd, Lebel
1991–92 	70 	41 	24 	5 	- 	- 	87 	0.621	331 	259 	2nd, Lebel
1992–93 	70 	40 	28 	2 	- 	- 	82 	0.586	296 	268 	2nd, Lebel
1993–94 	72 	38 	31 	3 	- 	- 	79 	0.549	310 	304 	3rd, Lebel
1994–95 	72 	42 	28 	2 	- 	- 	86 	0.597	340 	274 	2nd, Lebel
1995–96 	70 	52 	16 	2 	- 	- 	106 	0.757	347 	246 	2nd, Lebel
1996–97 	70 	48 	19 	3 	- 	- 	99 	0.707	346 	205 	1st, Lebel
1997–98 	70 	32 	37 	1 	- 	- 	65 	0.464	270 	268 	6th, Lebel
1998–99 	70 	23 	38 	9 	- 	- 	55 	0.393	276 	298 	6th, Lebel
1999–2000	72 	42 	24 	6 	0 	- 	90 	0.625	339 	256 	1st, West
2000–01 	72 	34 	28 	7 	3 	- 	78 	0.542	288 	284 	3rd, West
2001–02 	72 	33 	30 	3 	6 	- 	75 	0.521	230 	253 	1st, West
2002–03 	72 	39 	27 	4 	2 	- 	84 	0.583	266 	222 	2nd, West
2003–04 	70 	50 	13 	7 	0 	- 	107 	0.764	306 	179 	1st, Western
2004–05 	70 	33 	28 	5 	4 	- 	75 	0.536	216 	237 	3rd, Western
2005–06 	70 	40 	23 	- 	4 	3 	87 	0.621	261 	215 	4th, Western
2006–07 	70 	39 	27 	- 	2 	2 	82 	0.586	303 	274 	3rd, Telus
2007–08 	70 	43 	19 	- 	6 	2 	94 	0.664	272 	209 	3rd, Telus
2008–09 	68 	38 	25 	- 	2 	3 	81 	0.559	232 	232 	1st, Western
2009–10 	68 	30 	33 	- 	1 	4 	65 	0.441	213 	217 	3rd, Telus West
2010–11 	68 	43 	17 	- 	3 	5 	94 	0.691	243 	193 	3rd, Telus West
2011–12 	68 	26 	32 	- 	5 	5 	62 	0.456	223 	274 	4th, Telus West
2012–13 	68 	29 	34 	- 	1 	4 	63 	0.463	220 	265 	5th, Telus West
2013–14 	68 	41 	23 	- 	1 	3 	86 	0.632	254 	218 	4th, Telus West
2014–15 	68 	31 	31 	- 	0 	6 	68 	0.500	234 	242 	5th, West
2015–16 	68 	46 	19 	- 	2 	1 	95 	0.699	250 	173 	3rd, West
2016–17 	68 	33 	31 	- 	4 	0 	70 	0.515	234 	253 	3rd, West
2017–18 	68 	32 	27 	- 	5 	4 	73 	0.537	213 	215 	5th, West
2018–19 	68 	23 	39 	- 	4 	2 	52 	0.382	194 	248 	4th, West
2019–20 	64 	22 	37 	- 	5 	0 	49 	0.383	204 	247 	4th, West
2020–21 	31 	16 	11 	- 	2 	2 	36 	0.581	95 	87 	4th, West
2021–22 	68 	39 	15 	- 	11	3 	92 	0.676	248 	193 	2nd, West
2022–23 	68 	49 	12 	- 	5 	2 	105 	0.772	304 	197 	2nd, West
2023-24 	68 	25 	31 	- 	6 	6 	62 	 	213 	268 	3rd West
==NHL alumni==
Lists of National Hockey League alumni. No player from the "Hull Hawks" went on the play in the NHL.
:Hull Castors (1968–1969) 
* Billy Smith
: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
*Ales Hemsky
*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)
* Claude Giroux
* Jean-Gabriel Pageau
* David Krejci
* Philippe Dupuis
* Doug O'Brien
* Francis Wathier
* Maxime Talbot
* Joel Rechlicz
* Paul Byron
* Mike Hoffman
* Tye McGinn
===Retired numbers===
Ten Olympiques players have had their numbers retired by the team. Former coach Pat Burns has also been honoured.
* # 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
==References==
==External links==
*Official web site (English version)
Category:Established in 1969
Category:Ice hockey in Gatineau
Category:Ice hockey teams in Quebec
Category:Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams