Michel Galarneau

Michel Galarneau (born March 1, 1961) is a Canadian-born French former ice hockey centre. He played 78 games in the National Hockey League with the Hartford Whalers between 1980 and 1983, while mainly playing in the minor leagues. He moved to Europe in 1984, spending one season in the Dutch Eredivisie, and then moved to the French domestic league in 1985, where he played until retiring in 2000. Internationally Galarneau represented the French national team at the 1995 World Championships.

Biography Galarneau was born in Montreal, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1973 and 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Rosemont, Montreal. He played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Hull Olympiques where in his second season in 1979–80, he scored 39 goals and 64 assists for 103 points. He was drafted in the second round as a result of his highly productive performance, selected 29th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1980 NHL entry draft. He was unable to repeat his performances as a pro however, receiving limited ice-time during his spell with the Whalers, splitting his ice-time with the American Hockey League's Binghamton Whalers. In his three seasons with the Whalers, Galarneau played 78 regular season games, scoring 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points.

Galarneau spent one season in the Central Hockey League for the Montana Magic as well as brief spells in the AHL for the Binghamton Whalers and the Fredericton Express before moving to the Netherlands for one season with Eindhoven Kemphanen. In 1985, Galaneau moved to France's Ligue Magnus and signed for HC Amiens. After six seasons, he moved to HC Briançon for one season before moving to Division 1 team Anglet for one season. In 1993, he moved to Brest where he won two French Championships in 1996 and 1997. He remained with the team until his retirement in 2000.

Galarneau spent a total of 16 seasons in France. Though a Canadian, he obtained French citizenship during his lengthy spell in the country and represented his adopted country in the 1995 World Championships.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1976–77 Rosemount Selects QAHA — — — — — — — — — — 1977–78 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 3 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 1978–79 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 67 22 37 59 70 — — — — — 1979–80 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 72 39 64 103 49 4 3 1 4 12 1980–81 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 30 9 21 30 48 — — — — — 1980–81 Hartford Whalers NHL 30 2 6 8 9 — — — — — 1980–81 Binghamton Whalers AHL 9 1 0 1 4 5 0 1 1 0 1981–82 Hartford Whalers NHL 10 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1981–82 Binghamton Whalers AHL 64 15 17 32 52 14 2 0 2 2 1982–83 Hartford Whalers NHL 38 5 4 9 21 — — — — — 1982–83 Binghamton Whalers AHL 25 4 6 10 20 — — — — — 1983–84 Montana Magic CHL 66 18 22 40 44 — — — — — 1983–84 Binghamton Whalers AHL 4 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1983–84 Fredericton Express AHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1984–85 Eindhoven Kemphanen NED — — — — — — — — — — 1985–86 HC Amiens FRA — — — — — — — — — — 1986–87 HC Amiens FRA 36 51 33 84 28 — — — — — 1987–88 HC Amiens FRA 30 28 22 50 36 — — — — — 1988–89 HC Amiens FRA 3 2 1 3 2 — — — — — 1989–90 HC Amiens FRA 12 11 7 18 13 3 2 1 3 2 1990–91 HC Amiens FRA 32 25 24 49 50 4 4 1 5 14 1991–92 Diables Rouges de Briançon FRA 32 25 24 49 50 — — — — — 1992–93 Anglet Hormadi Élite FRA-2 26 22 23 45 26 — — — — — 1993–94 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA 20 14 15 29 45 6 7 5 12 6 1994–95 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA 27 14 19 33 54 9 4 2 6 2 1995–96 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA 27 9 12 21 38 10 0 5 5 37 1996–97 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA 30 14 11 25 55 10 2 5 7 14 1997–98 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA-4 — — — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA-3 28 31 27 58 — — — — — — 1999–00 Brest Albatros Hockey FRA-2 29 13 16 29 — — — — — — FRA totals 249 193 168 361 371 42 19 19 38 75 NHL totals 78 7 10 17 34 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1995 France WC 6 1 1 2 2 Senior totals 56 1 1 2 2