- Pierre Dagenais
Pierre Dagenais (born
March 4 ,1978 in Blainville,Quebec ) is a Canadianprofessional ice hockey player. He was drafted by theNew Jersey Devils in both the1996 NHL Entry Draft (round 2, #47 overall) and the1998 NHL Entry Draft (round 4, #105 overall).Playing career
QMJHL
Pierre Dagenais started his junior career by being drafted by the Moncton Alpines in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) at the age of 17 years old. He quickly became a young star on his team, being the leader in points and goal in his first year with the Alpines in the 1995–96 season. He was drafted for the first time in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.The following year, Dagenais was traded to the Laval Titan after six games for
Mathieu Letourneau . At mid-season he was traded to theRouyn-Noranda Huskies forYannick Hubert andJean-Philippe Soucy .In the 1997–98 season, Dagenais led the QMJHL in goals and was second in points. That was also the year that Dagenais met his best friend to date,
Mike Ribeiro , who finished second in points after Pierre. By playing on the same line all the season, Ribeiro and Dagenais developed a great friendship.In the summer of 1998, Dagenais had not yet signed a contract with the New Jersey, so he was drafted again.
AHL & NHL
The 1998–99 season was Dagenais' professional hockey debut. He played with the
New Jersey Devils ' AHL affiliate, theAlbany River Rats . The 1999–00 season was better than his first professional season. He finished among the top scorers in the league with 35 goals.In 2000–01 season Dagenais made it to the NHL. In the 2001–02 season he played 16 games with the Devils, and in the minor leagues with the River Rats and the Utah Grizzlies . Eventually he was traded to the
Florida Panthers . After next year's training camp, he was sent to the affiliate AHL team, theSan Antonio Rampage .During the summer 2003, the
Montreal Canadiens ' general managerBob Gainey surprised some by signing Dagenais to a one year contract. Dagenais started the 2003–04 season with the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, theHamilton Bulldogs . He played 50 games on the Habs' second line withMike Ribeiro andMichael Ryder . The line was the most productive of the team and Dagenais scored 27 points.During the
2004–05 NHL lockout , he played 7 games withHC Ajoie inSwitzerland . After a disappointing start in the 2005–2006 season, he was sent back to the Hamilton Bulldogs on January 6th. He became a restricted free agent during the summer of 2006, and signed a tryout contract withJokerit in the FinnishSM-liiga in October 2006. His tryout lasted until the SM-liiga Christmas break, and the contract was not renewed. He signed a new contract withHC Innsbruck of the AustrianErste Bank Eishockey Liga and had an excellent season, scoring 37 goals in only 27 games. He almost led the league in goals, despite playing only half the year. He resigned with Innsbruck for 2007–08 season.In 2008, he signed with the Russian Superleague club Traktor Chelyabinsk.Career statistics
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