Mario Gosselin
Born (1963-06-15) June 15, 1963
Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Quebec Nordiques
Los Angeles Kings
Hartford Whalers
NHL Draft 55th overall, 1982
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 19831994

Mario Gosselin (born June 15, 1963) is a Canadian former hockey goaltender who played nine years in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, the Los Angeles Kings and the Hartford Whalers.

Playing career

As a youth, Gosselin played in the 1975 and 1976 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Thetford Mines.[1]

Gosselin played his junior hockey for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL from 1980–1981 to 1982–1983. He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with 55th pick (third round) of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.

He then represented Canada at the 1983 World Junior Championships as a spare goalie than continued to play for Canada joining the national team for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics where he played seven games winning four of them and helping Canada finish fourth.

Quebec Nordiques

Following the Games, he joined the Nordiques making a memorable debut on February 26, 1984, by blanking the St. Louis Blues 5–0.

The following year he formed a tandem with veteran Dan Bouchard and took over the starting job for good by playoff time helping backstop the Nordiques past the Buffalo Sabres in the first round and their fierce rivals the Montreal Canadiens in the second round before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Semi-Finals.

The 1985-86 season had highs and lows for Gosselin. He battled for ice time with newcomer Clint Malarchuk and veteran Richard Sevigny and played well enough to be selected to play in the 1986 All-Star Game, but also struggled enough to spend five games in the American Hockey League with the Fredericton Express. His season ended on a high note, however, when Gosselin excelled for the Nordiques in the post-season going 7-4 after taking over the crease from Malarchuk.

He spent the next season in a back-up role but returned to the starting job in 1987-88 after Malarchuk was traded to the Washington Capitals. Gosselin and the Nordiques had a forgettable season and the following year, with veteran Bob Mason signed and rookie Ron Tugnutt pushing for starts Gosselin saw his playing time cut and again had a brief stint in the AHL. After the season, the Nordiques didn't renew his contract on June 6, 1989, and he signed with the Los Angeles Kings.

Los Angeles Kings

Gosselin served as the back-up to Kelly Hrudey but was largely ineffective posting a 7-11-1 record with a 3.87 goals against average. He did manage to get in the history books during his time with the Kings, even if it was for dubious reasons. Mario Gosselin was the first goaltender in NHL history to lose a game without giving up a goal.[2] Gosselin filled in for Kelly Hrudey and the Kings would give up an empty net goal. The result was a 7–6 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

When the Kings acquired netminder Daniel Berthiaume the following off-season, Gosselin lost his job and spent the 1990-91 season as the starting goalie with the Kings International Hockey League affiliate in Phoenix.

Hartford Whalers

In 1991-92, he signed with the Hartford Whalers but failed to return to the NHL that year and ended up spending his second consecutive season at the minor league level playing for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. During training camp before the 1992-93 campaign, Gosselin suffered a serious back injury [3] that cost him four months. The injury was so serious, Gosselin feared his career might have been over. "At a certain point in December, they told me maybe I would never play again. All I wanted to do was play hockey again."[4] He worked his way back into the Springfield lineup but an injury to Whaler back-up Frank Pietrangelo brought him back to the NHL after nearly three years away. Shortly after, starter Sean Burke suffered back spasms and suddenly Gosselin was an NHL starter again. In 16 games with the Whalers that year he posted better numbers than incumbents Burke and Pietrangelo and impressed the Whaler brass enough to earn a new two year contract that March. [5] The following season, he played 2 games in Springfield and 7 in Hartford before suffering a knee injury on November 27, 1993, in a game against the Florida Panthers that ultimately ended his season and career.

Personal life

After retirement, Gosselin worked as a radio analyst for the Roadrunners games and hockey coordinator at the YMCA before moving back to the province of Quebec in 1997. He now lives in Saint-Basile-le-grand with his wife, three sons (Francis, Yanick, Justin) and daughter Marylee. Gosselin owns a hockey school called "Ecole de Hockey Mario Gosselin" and works at various high schools as a goaltender coach for their ice hockey programs.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPWLTMINGASOGAASV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1979–80 Montréal L'Est Cantonniers QMAAA 860004.09
1980–81 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 2141009087605.02.846 10020206.00.818
1981–82 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 6033252338523004.08.885 14777875804.42.879
1982–83 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 463291256113333.12.895 8534582903.80.863
1983–84 Canada Intl 36200712603.77
1983–84 Quebec Nordiques NHL 3200148311.22.955
1984–85 Quebec Nordiques NHL 3519113196010913.34.877 179810595403.06.886
1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 3114141172611123.86.861 10140507.50.773
1985–86 Fredericton Express AHL 52213041502.96.894
1986–87 Quebec Nordiques NHL 301311116258603.18.887 11746543703.39.887
1987–88 Quebec Nordiques NHL 5420284300218923.78.867
1988–89 Quebec Nordiques NHL 3911193206414604.24.868
1988–89 Halifax Citadels AHL 3300183902.95.878
1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 26711112267903.87.865 30263302.90.870
1990–91 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 4624154267317213.86 11746704303.85
1991–92 Springfield Indians AHL 4728115260614203.27.894 6143191803.39.901
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 165918675703.94.886
1992–93 Springfield Indians AHL 2387713457503.35.884
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 70402392105.27.804
1993–94 Springfield Indians AHL 2200120502.50.896
NHL totals 241911071412,85780163.74.871 32161518169903.27.883

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1983 Canada WJC DNP
1984 Canada OG 7 4 3 0 380 14 0 2.21

References

  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  2. Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.16, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
  3. "Gosselin Makes A Stop With Whalers". www.courant.com. Hartford Courant. 19 March 1993.
  4. "Hartford Courant". Courant.com. 19 March 1993.
  5. "Whalers Fall Short in Ot Loss". Courant.com. Hartford Courant. 25 March 1993.
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