Cameron Gaunce (born March 19, 1990) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played with the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). Gaunce was selected by

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

in the second round, 50th overall, of the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

Playing career

Gaunce grew up in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

, playing

minor ice hockey 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 contact, vary from c ...

with the

Ontario Minor Hockey Association The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) is a minor ice hockey governing body in Ontario. The OMHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. History The OMHA was founded on November 30, 1940, after a merger of the Ontari ...

(OMHA) Markham Waxers, where he was a teammate of

Steven Stamkos Steven Stamkos (born February 7, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stamkos was selected first overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Lightning. H ...

Michael Del Zotto Michael Del Zotto (born June 24, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in ...

and

Cody Hodgson Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centreman. Hodgson played at the major junior level for four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After being selecte ...

. He played in the 2003

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with Markham. He was selected 50th overall by the

in the

. Gaunce played with the

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors The Toronto St. Michael's Majors were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The most recent franchise was revived on August 15, 1996. In 2007, the team relocated to Mississauga, Ontario an ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL) for three seasons, and on May 11, 2009, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche and attended the 2009 Avalanche's training camp before returning for his final year with the Majors in the 2009–10 season. In his first professional season, in 2010–11, Gaunce was assigned to Colorado's

(AHL) affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hocke ...

. After 54 games with the Monsters, he was called up to the NHL and made his NHL debut in Colorado's 5–3 defeat against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

on February 12, 2011. In his third game with the Avalanche, he scored his first NHL goal and point against

Marc-André Fleury Marc-André Fleury (born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) first overall by the Pittsbur ...

and the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...

in a 3–2 loss on February 16. During the 2012–13 season, while playing with the Monsters and in the final year of his entry-level contract, on April 2, 2013, Gaunce was traded to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

in exchange for Tomáš Vincour. On December 17, 2013, Gaunce was called up to the Stars. In September 2014, after failing to make the Stars' NHL roster out of training camp, Gaunce was assigned to Dallas' AHL affiliate, the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the te ...

. On July 1, 2015, after he was not tendered a qualifying offer to remain with the Stars, Gaunce signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home game ...

. Gaunce was assigned to add leadership to Florida's AHL affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

, for the duration of the 2015–16 season. He responded by setting career-high numbers offensively with 37 points in 75 games. On July 1, 2016, as a free agent, Gaunce signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

. In the 2016–17 season, he began playing in the AHL with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Ba ...

. With Pittsburgh suffering a depleted blueline through injury, Gaunce was recalled and eclipsed his previous efforts in the NHL to record a career-high 1 goal and 4 points in 12 games. On July 1, 2017, as a free agent for the third straight year, Gaunce signed a two-year, 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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

. In the 2017–18 season, after attending the Blue Jackets' training camp, Gaunce was reassigned to Columbus' AHL affiliate, the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National H ...

. In making his return to his first professional club in the Monsters, Gaunce added a veteran presence on the blueline and led the defence in scoring with 21 assists and 24 points. On July 1, 2018, Gaunce signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. Following two productive seasons within the Lightning organizations, Gaunce left as a free agent leading into the pandemic delayed

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. Unable to secure an NHL deal, Gaunce agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the Ontario Reign, affiliate to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, on January 28, 2021. In the shortened AHL season, Gaunce contributed with 3 goals and 13 points in 24 games. In his second season with the Reign in the 2021–22 season, Gaunce featured regularly in 61 regular season games, collecting 7 goals and 27 points. He played in all five playoff games with the Reign in their divisional semi-final defeat to the

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central ...

. On July 27, 2022, Gaunce opted to return for a third season with the Reign, re-signing to a one-year contract.

Personal

Gaunce's younger brother Brendan currently plays as a left winger in the

organization. Brendan, who was selected second overall by the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario at ...

in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Canucks in the

2012 NHL Entry Draft The 2012 NHL Entry Draft was the 50th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The top ...

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaunce, Cameron 1990 births Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Monsters players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Dallas Stars players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Mississauga St. Michael's Majors players Ontario Reign (AHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins players Portland Pirates players Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players Texas Stars players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players