Joseph Gilles Bilodeau (July 31, 1955August 12, 2008) was a Canadian professional

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 ...

player who played nine games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and 143 games in the

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 ...

between 1976 and 1980. He played for the

Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. History The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 WHA season, 19 ...

, Birmingham Bulls, and

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

. Bilodeau was nicknamed "Bad News", due to a physically aggressive style of play.

Playing career

Born in

Saint-Prime, Quebec Saint-Prime () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, located within the regional county municipality of Le Domaine-du-Roy. The municipality had a population of 2,760 as of the Canada 2021 Census, and a land area of 147.16 km2. Geography Clim ...

, Bilodeau played junior hockey for the Sorel Black Hawks. In 1975, the Toros selected him No. 122 overall in the amateur league draft. He made his pro debut with the minor league Beauce Jaros. In his first pro season, Bilodeau led the NAHL in penalty minutes, accumulating 451 minutes in just 58 games during the 1975–76 season. The eight goals and 17 assists he recorded were the highest season totals of his career. Finishing off the 1975–76 season with the Toros, he played 14 games in spot duty accumulating 1 assist and 38 penalty minutes. Next year the Toros transferred to Birmingham to become the Bulls. During the 1976–77 season, Bilodeau split his time with the Birmingham Bulls and the Charlotte Checkers of the SHL. With Birmingham he played 34 games while scoring 2 goals and 6 assists and picking up 133 penalty minutes. In Charlotte, he had 3 goals, 6 assists and 242 penalty minutes during 28 games. He would finish the 1977–78 season with 258 penalty minutes with the Bulls. The Quebec Nordiques signed him as a free agent in 1978. The following season, the Nordiques were among the four WHA teams absorbed into the NHL. Bilodeau skated in nine NHL games, gaining a single assist and recording just 25 penalty minutes. He played the 1980–81 season for the Richmond Rifles of the EHL before settling in Birmingham. He played to 2 games for the Birmingham Bulls of the ACHL during the 1983–84 season before retiring. He died on August 12, 2008, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

.https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/birmingham/name/gilles-bilodeau-obituary?id=12911822

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilodeau, Gilles 1955 births 2008 deaths Ice hockey people from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Sportspeople from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Canadian ice hockey left wingers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Beauce Jaros players Binghamton Dusters players Birmingham Bulls (ACHL) players Birmingham Bulls (WHA) players Charlotte Checkers (SHL) players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players Quebec Nordiques players Richmond Rifles players Sorel Éperviers players Syracuse Firebirds players Toronto Toros draft picks Toronto Toros players Undrafted National Hockey League players