Alexandre Giroux (born June 16, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

currently playing for the

Thetford Assurancia Assurancia de Thetford or The Thetford Assurancia (previously ''Thetford Mines Isothermic'') are a professional ice hockey team based in Thetford Mines, Quebec. The team is part of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). The team plays at th ...

of the Quebec-based

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a semi-Professional sports league organization, professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdu ...

. He previously played in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) with

HC Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and blues). Though they have never won the leagu ...

and

EHC Kloten EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

. He is the son of former

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

player Rejean Giroux.

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Giroux played in the 1995

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. Giroux joined the

QMJHL The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

Hull Olympiques The Gatineau Olympiques are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Pupp ...

in 1998–99 and went on to play parts of three seasons with the club before joining the

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League based in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The team plays its home games at the Aréna Iamgold, Aréna Glencore. The Huskies finished first overal ...

midway through the 2000–01 season. Over the course of his junior career, Giroux registered 226 points (111 goals and 115 assists) before going on to make his professional debut with the AHL's

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

in 2001–02.

Professional

Drafted by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in 1999, Giroux failed to crack the NHL roster. He would spend parts of three seasons in the Senators' system before a 2004 deadline deal sent him and

Karel Rachunek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley (born 1962), American talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel (1921–2006), Dutch painter and sculptor Business * Karel Elec ...

to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

for

Greg de Vries Gregory de Vries (born January 4, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played over 800 games with six teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). de Vries won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2000–01 season ...

. Giroux would ultimately play only one game with the Rangers, spending the majority of his time with their farm team, the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

. In the summer of 2006, Giroux signed as a free agent with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. As a member of the Capitals, Giroux would spend the majority of his time with the club's AHL affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

and appear in a handful of games with Washington. The following summer, he signed as a free agent with the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. With the Thrashers, Giroux was sent to the club's AHL affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

. He tallied 19 goals and 41 points in 44 games with the Wolves before he was traded back to the Capitals organization. On August 5, 2009, it was announced that Giroux had signed a one-year

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

to remain with the Hershey Bears. The

2008–09 AHL season The 2008–09 AHL season was the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12. Team and NHL affiliation changes The Iowa Stars are renamed and are now ca ...

was a successful one for Giroux. On January 18, 2009, Giroux broke

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played f ...

's American Hockey League record for consecutive games scoring a goal, scoring in 15 straight games. On April 10, 2009, Giroux capped off his memorable season by being awarded the

Les Cunningham Award The Les Cunningham Award is given annually to American Hockey League's "Most Valuable Player" of the regular season, as voted on by AHL media and players. The award was first presented in the 1947–48 season, is named after Les Cunningham, a five ...

as American Hockey League MVP. On July 3, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. Following their preseason run, he was assigned to the Oilers' AHL affiliates, the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...

. With a season-ending injury to the Oilers'

Taylor Hall Taylor Hall (born November 14, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft selected by the Edmonton Oilers. ...

, Giroux was recalled from Oklahoma City, on March 5, 2011. He made his Oilers debut the same night, scoring a goal which helped Edmonton secure a 5–1 victory, over the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. On July 3, 2011, Giroux signed a two-way contract with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. During the 2011–12 season, Giroux appeared in 9 games with the Blue Jackets but primarily was assigned to the all familiar AHL with the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

. On May 24, 2012, Giroux left North America and inked a one-year deal as a free agent with

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga () is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It most recently was a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LBTU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of a D ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

. In the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season with the Latvian outfit, Giroux failed to produce the desired offensive impact, with 21 points in 47 games, before he was loaned to Swiss club, the

Kloten Flyers EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

of the NLA to end the campaign. In the following season, Giroux remained in Switzerland, signing an initial one-year contract with

of the

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

(NLA) on June 28, 2013. During his three-year stint, he saw the ice in 167 NLA contests, tallying 77 goals and 56 assists. Giroux returned to the KHL upon the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, penning a deal with Medvescak Zagreb in July 2016. In 11 AHL seasons, Giroux totaled 704 points in 771 games. His 368 goals are seventh-most in league history.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

*AHL MVP (2008-09) *AHL scoring champion (2008-09) *AHL goal-scoring champion (2008-09, 2009-10) *AHL First All-Star Team (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010–11) *Calder Cup champion (2009, 2010) *AHL All-Star Classic (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giroux, Alexandre 1981 births Living people HC Ambrì-Piotta players Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Columbus Blue Jackets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Dinamo Riga players Edmonton Oilers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hershey Bears players Hull Olympiques players Ice hockey people from Quebec City EHC Kloten players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players New York Rangers players Oklahoma City Barons players Ottawa Senators draft picks Rouyn-Noranda Huskies players Springfield Falcons players Washington Capitals players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen