Paul Gillis

Paul Christopher Gillis (born December 31, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Quebec Nordiques, Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers between 1982 and 1993.

Playing career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Gillis is the brother of Mike Gillis. As a youth, he played in the 1976 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Toronto.

Gillis started his National Hockey League career with the Quebec Nordiques in 1983. He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers. He left the NHL after the 1993 season.

Coaching career Gillis began his coaching career with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1994–95, followed by two years as head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Gillis then led the Quad City Mallards to a United Hockey League (UHL) championship in 1997–98 with a remarkable 55–18–1 regular-season record. After a brief stint back in the OHL, Gillis returned to the UHL as head coach of the New Haven Knights for two years, and then returned to Quad City where he guided the Mallards to the UHL finals again in 2002–03. He moved on to the Danbury Trashers and in 2005–06 made his third trip to the UHL finals, before coaching the Elmira Jackals for the final 28 games of the 2006–07 season.

In the spring of 2007, Gillis was named as the third head coach in the Odessa Jackalopes' 12-year history, and his impact was immediate. Gillis led the Jackalopes back to the CHL postseason after the team missed out entirely in the 2006–07 campaign.

In 14 years as a coach, Gillis finished with a winning record 10 times.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1979–80 St. Michael's Buzzers MJBHL 44 20 36 56 114 — — — — — 1980–81 Niagara Falls Flyers OHL 59 14 19 33 165 — — — — — 1981–82 Niagara Falls Flyers OHL 65 27 62 89 247 5 1 5 6 26 1982–83 Quebec Nordiques NHL 7 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 1982–83 North Bay Centennials OHL 61 34 52 86 151 6 1 3 4 26 1983–84 Quebec Nordiques NHL 57 8 9 17 59 1 0 0 0 2 1983–84 Fredericton Express AHL 18 7 8 15 47 — — — — — 1984–85 Quebec Nordiques NHL 77 14 28 42 168 18 1 7 8 73 1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 80 19 24 43 203 3 0 2 2 14 1986–87 Quebec Nordiques NHL 76 13 26 39 267 13 2 4 6 65 1987–88 Quebec Nordiques NHL 80 7 10 17 164 — — — — — 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques NHL 79 15 25 40 163 — — — — — 1989–90 Quebec Nordiques NHL 71 8 14 22 234 — — — — — 1990–91 Quebec Nordiques NHL 49 3 8 11 91 2 0 0 0 2 1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 0 5 5 53 2 0 0 0 2 1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 1991–92 Indianapolis Ice IHL 42 10 15 25 170 — — — — — 1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 12 0 2 2 48 5 0 1 1 0 1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 21 1 1 2 40 — — — — — NHL totals 624 88 154 242 1498 44 3 14 17 158