Pascal Dupuis

Pascal Dupuis (born April 7, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Undrafted out of the 1997 NHL entry draft, he played 15 seasons in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Born and raised in Laval, Quebec, Dupuis played with the Laval Régents before being drafted by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In his first season with the Huskies, he broke his leg which prevented him from being selected in the NHL draft. Dupuis continued his major junior career with the Huskies and the Shawinigan Cataractes, where he broke out offensively. Recording career-highs in goals, assists, and points with the Cataractes, the Minnesota Wild signed him in 2000 after an impressive showing at the Wild training camp.

Dupuis started his professional career assigned to the Wild's International Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Lumberjacks. After playing a full season with the Lumberjacks, openings in the Wild's roster due to injuries led to Dupuis making his NHL debut on April 2, 2001. He continued to be a mainstay until 2007, where he was traded to the New York Rangers. Dupuis was quickly dealt again to the Atlanta Thrashers, where he helped the Thrashers make their first and only postseason appearance. The following year, the Thrashers traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Marián Hossa. Expected to be nothing more than a role player with the Penguins, he contributed heavily to the team, being a part of the 2009 Stanley Cup winning team. Although Dupuis was productive with the Penguins, he started suffering multiple health issues from the 2013–14 season onwards, finally retiring in December 2015 but contractually remaining on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ long-term injury reserve list until the end of the 2016–17 NHL season. He was still considered a part of the 2016 Stanley Cup winning team, being able to hoist the cup.

Post retirement, he joined the Penguins' organization as a part-time scout out of Quebec and as a part of player development. He left the organization in 2018 to coach his son's school hockey team, the Lucille-Teasdale Diabolos, leading the team to the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament Scolaire Division finals. In 2020, he joined the Cataractes organization to become a franchise co-owner and the director of hockey operations. He has switched roles multiple times in the organization from 2020 to 2023, where he finally became settled as the director of player development and the assistant director of hockey operations. Provided by Wikipedia