François Groleau

François Groleau (born January 23, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eight games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens over three seasons between 1996 and 1997. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1993 to 2013, was mainly spent in the minor leagues and then in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Playing career As a youth, Groleau played in the 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Rive-Sud.

Groleau was drafted 41st overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1991 NHL entry draft. He spent two seasons in the American Hockey League with the Saint John Flames before he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in March 1995 for Ed Ward. He finished the 1994–95 season in the AHL with the Cornwall Aces.

He signed with the Montreal Canadiens in July 1995 and played eight NHL games for the team over three seasons, scoring one assist. He spent most of his tenure in the AHL with the Fredericton Canadiens and also spent a season in the International Hockey League with the San Francisco Spiders.

With his NHL career now at an end, Groleau moved to Germany in 1998, playing one season in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the Augsburger Panther. He then returned to the AHL with the Quebec Citadelles again for one season. In 2000, Groleau returned to the DEL, signing for Adler Mannheim. He spent five seasons with the team, winning the league title in 2001 and the German Cup in 2003. He signed for the Füchse Duisburg in 2005, but the team finished bottom of the league. He signed for EHC Black Wings Linz in 2006. After his second season with the Black Wings, Groleau spent two years in France with Diables Rouges de Briançon before returning to Canada to play with Thetford Mines Isothermic in 2010–11.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1988–89 Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs QMAAA 42 3 24 27 42 13 1 7 8 28 1989–90 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 66 11 54 65 80 6 0 1 1 12 1990–91 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 70 9 60 69 70 6 0 3 3 2 1991–92 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 65 8 70 78 74 10 5 15 20 8 1992–93 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 33 4 24 28 50 — — — — — 1992–93 Saint-Jean Lynx QMJHL 15 3 14 17 16 4 0 1 1 14 1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 73 8 14 22 49 7 0 1 1 2 1994–95 Saint John Flames AHL 65 6 34 40 28 — — — — — 1994–95 Cornwall Aces AHL 8 1 2 3 7 14 2 7 9 16 1995–96 San Francisco Spiders IHL 63 6 26 32 60 — — — — — 1995–96 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 12 3 5 8 10 10 1 6 7 14 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1996–97 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 47 8 24 32 43 — — — — — 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1997–98 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 63 14 26 40 70 4 0 2 2 4 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1998–99 Augsburger Panther DEL 52 9 21 30 67 5 0 4 4 4 1999–00 Quebec Citadelles AHL 63 7 24 31 48 3 0 2 2 0 2000–01 Adler Mannheim DEL 59 2 16 18 52 4 0 0 0 2 2001–02 Adler Mannheim DEL 60 2 7 9 72 12 1 1 2 10 2002–03 Adler Mannheim DEL 43 2 8 10 56 8 0 2 2 6 2003–04 Adler Mannheim DEL 52 2 20 22 58 6 1 0 1 4 2004–05 Adler Mannheim DEL 40 1 6 7 42 14 0 1 1 32 2005–06 Füchse Duisburg DEL 32 1 14 15 34 — — — — — 2006–07 EHC Black Wings Linz EBEL 56 4 33 37 110 3 0 1 1 0 2007–08 EHC Black Wings Linz EBEL 46 4 18 22 54 11 2 4 6 16 2008–09 Diables Rouges de Briançon FRA 21 5 17 22 16 12 3 2 5 16 2009–10 Diables Rouges de Briançon FRA 23 6 20 26 40 9 0 6 6 12 2010–11 Thetford Mines Isothermic LNAH 34 5 32 37 14 9 0 5 5 6 2011–12 Thetford Mines Isothermic LNAH 17 0 11 11 4 8 0 6 6 6 2012–13 Thetford Mines Isothermic LNAH 12 0 13 13 12 4 0 4 4 0 2015–16 Thetford Assurancia LNAH 9 0 2 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 DEL totals 370 20 95 115 427 49 2 8 10 58 NHL totals 8 0 1 1 6 — — — — —