Joel Perrault

Joël Perrault (born April 6, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played a total of 96 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) throughout his playing career, which lasted from 2003 to 2016.

Playing career Perrault was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the fifth round, 137th overall, in the 2001 NHL entry draft. In his last year of junior hockey, Perrault was the QMJHL's leading scorer while playing for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

After turning professional, Perrault spent two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and the Portland Pirates before he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Sean O'Donnell on March 9, 2006.

In the 2006–07 season on October 31, 2006, St. Louis Blues claimed Perrault of waivers before being reclaimed by the Coyotes on December 19, 2006. He also spent parts of the season in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage and the Blues' minor affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

In 2007–08, Perrault split time between the NHL and AHL scoring 17 points in 49 games for the Coyotes. Over the following two seasons, he remained in the Phoenix organization but was unable to establish a permanent role in the NHL, often relied on as an offensive contributor with San Antonio.

On May 11, 2010, Perrault signed with Swiss team EV Zug of the National League A (NLA). With the inclusion of an out clause for NHL interest, Perrault opted out with EV Zug and signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 1, 2010.

Perrault began the 2010–11 season in the AHL. He played 15 games for the Canucks' top affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, before being recalled to the NHL to make his Vancouver debut on November 20 in a 7–1 home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

On February 28, 2011, Perrault was traded (along with a third-round pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft) to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Maxim Lapierre and MacGregor Sharp.

On May 5, 2011, Perrault again signed in Switzerland, agreeing to a one-year and optional second year contract with the SCL Tigers beginning in the 2011–12 season. On November 18, he signed a one-year contract with HC Ambrì-Piotta for the remainder of the season.

On July 20, 2012, Perrault signed with HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga for the 2012–13 season. Midway through the campaign, he determined his stay in Finland would be a solitary season after signing a contract for the following season with Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) on December 10, 2013, also spending the 2014–15 season with the club.

In December 2015, Perrault signed with Dragons de Rouen of the French Ligue Magnus for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He helped Rouen win the French championship, the French Cup competition as well as the IIHF Continental Cup. Perrault retired from professional hockey at the end of the season in March 2016.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1999–2000 Collège Antoine–Girouard QMAAA 19 4 7 11 6 — — — — — 2000–01 Baie–Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 68 10 14 24 46 11 1 1 2 10 2001–02 Baie–Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 57 18 44 62 96 5 2 0 2 6 2002–03 Baie–Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 70 51 65 116 93 12 3 7 10 14 2003–04 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 65 14 14 28 38 9 1 1 2 2 2004–05 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 51 9 19 28 40 — — — — — 2005–06 Augusta Lynx ECHL 3 4 2 6 2 — — — — — 2005–06 Portland Pirates AHL 25 12 12 24 20 — — — — — 2005–06 San Antonio Rampage AHL 12 1 6 7 4 — — — — — 2005–06 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 5 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2006–07 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 15 1 2 3 14 — — — — — 2006–07 St. Louis Blues NHL 11 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2006–07 Peoria Rivermen AHL 2 0 2 2 7 — — — — — 2006–07 San Antonio Rampage AHL 21 10 4 14 8 — — — — — 2007–08 San Antonio Rampage AHL 28 14 13 27 36 — — — — — 2007–08 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 49 7 10 17 48 — — — — — 2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 7 2 1 3 4 — — — — — 2008–09 San Antonio Rampage AHL 46 18 31 49 46 — — — — — 2009–10 San Antonio Rampage AHL 47 17 19 36 38 — — — — — 2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2010–11 Manitoba Moose AHL 37 5 18 23 43 — — — — — 2010–11 Vancouver Canucks NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 SCL Tigers NLA 23 5 6 11 20 — — — — — 2011–12 HC Ambrì–Piotta NLA 27 7 11 18 36 — — — — — 2012–13 HIFK SM-liiga 20 4 5 9 28 5 0 1 1 16 2013–14 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 24 8 12 20 28 5 1 0 1 6 2014–15 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 42 13 19 32 56 3 0 1 1 14 2015–16 Dragons de Rouen FRA 12 2 2 4 14 15 1 7 8 28 AHL totals 334 100 138 238 280 9 1 1 2 2 NHL totals 96 12 14 26 68 — — — — —

Awards 2002–03 QMJHL First All-Star team 2002–03 QMJHL Jean Beliveau Trophy (Leading Scorer) 2002–03 QMJHL Michel Briere Trophy (MVP) 2002–03 CHL First All-Star team