Gilbert Dionne

Gilbert Dionne (born September 19, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1990–91 until 1995–96. He is the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne, who is nineteen years his senior.

Early life Dionne was born on September 19, 1970, in Drummondville, Quebec, as the youngest child of Gilbert Sr. and Laurette Dionne. Given the 19-year age gap between Dionne and his eldest brother Marcel, they did not grow up together and rarely saw each other. As a youth, he described Marcel as "my great brother that I never see."

Career Junior As a youth, Dionne played in the 1982 and 1983 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Drummondville. Due to his eldest brothers stardom, Dionne was often unfairly treated by coaches, opposing players, and fans. He left on Marcel's suggestion that he learn English and to further separate himself from his brothers reputation. After failing to make the Junior-A squad, Dionne was assigned to the Junior-B Niagara Falls Canucks. However, his skating was still a concern and he spent a year playing midget hockey before joining the Canucks.

Following his rookie season, Dionne was drafted in the 19th round, 253rd pick overall, by the Kitchener Rangers in the 1987 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft. Following the draft, Dionne signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens. He was then assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens, for the 1990–91 season. He quickly established himself on the "Baby Habs Kid Line" with Patrick Lebeau and Jesse Bélanger. He scored seven goals by mid-November before being called up to the NHL level as a replacement for Brian Skrudland. He made his NHL debut on November 19 against the Quebec Nordiques. He rejoined the Fredericton Canadiens the following day. By January 1991, Dionne ranked among the top scorers in the AHL with 16 goals and 40 points. He earned another one-game recall on March 18 and skated in the Canadiens 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

After showing up to the Canadiens training camp out of shape, Dionne was assigned to the Fredericton Canadiens to start the 1991–92 season. On December 22, 1991, Dionne was called up to the NHL level as a replacement for Mario Roberge. At the time of the call-up, Dionne was leading the AHL Canadiens in scoring with 19 goals and 27 assists. He scored his first career NHL goal on December 29, in a 3–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. While playing with the NHL Canadiens, Dionne earned $135,000, a significant increase from the $33,000 he earned with Fredericton. He recorded his first career NHL hat-trick on February 26 against the Minnesota North Stars, which gave him 11 goals over 24 games. By the end of March, Dionne ranked among the top 10 in rookie scoring with 34 points and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He scored two goals in his 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Hartford Whalers.

In January 1995, Dionne upset his teammates after describing some as "playing like chickens with their heads cut off" to the media after he was made a healthy scratch. While he gave an apology to the team, At the time of trade, Dionne had recorded three points in six games.

Overall, he played 223 career NHL games, scoring 61 goals and 79 assists for 140 points.

Personal life Dionne and his wife Heather have five children together.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1986–87 Niagara Falls Canucks GHL 17 9 6 15 16 — — — — — 1987–88 Niagara Falls Canucks GHL 36 36 48 84 60 — — — — — 1988–89 Kitchener Rangers OHL 66 11 33 44 13 5 1 1 2 4 1989–90 Kitchener Rangers OHL 64 48 57 105 85 17 13 10 23 22 1989–90 Kitchener Rangers MC — — — — — 5 4 6 10 8 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1990–91 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 77 40 47 87 62 9 6 5 11 8 1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 39 21 13 34 10 11 3 4 7 10 1991–92 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 29 19 27 46 20 — — — — — 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 75 20 28 48 63 20 6 6 12 20 1992–93 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 3 4 3 7 0 — — — — — 1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 19 26 45 31 5 1 2 3 0 1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 0 3 3 2 — — — — — 1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 20 0 6 6 2 3 0 0 0 4 1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1995–96 Florida Panthers NHL 5 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1995–96 Carolina Monarchs AHL 55 43 58 101 29 — — — — — 1996–97 Carolina Monarchs AHL 72 41 47 88 69 — — — — — 1997–98 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 76 42 57 99 54 9 3 4 7 28 1998–99 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 76 35 53 88 123 3 0 2 2 6 1999–2000 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 81 34 49 83 88 11 4 3 7 8 2000–01 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 80 23 43 66 46 5 0 2 2 0 2001–02 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 57 15 26 41 26 3 0 1 1 2 2002–03 Hannover Scorpions DEL 51 17 29 46 55 — — — — — 2003–04 Cambridge Hornets OHA-Sr. 17 22 20 42 6 — — — — — 2004–05 Cambridge Hornets OHA-Sr. 25 16 28 44 4 — — — — — 2005–06 Cambridge Hornets MLH 19 11 24 35 8 — — — — — NHL totals 223 61 79 140 108 39 10 12 22 34 AHL totals 236 147 182 329 180 9 6 5 11 8 IHL totals 313 134 202 336 311 28 7 11 18 42