Gordon Rick Dwyer (born January 25, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. He is the head coach and General Manager of the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Gordie Dwyer
Dwyer with the Lowell Lock Monsters in 2004
Born (1978-01-25) January 25, 1978 (age 46)
Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
PositionLeft Wing
ShotLeft
Played forTampa Bay Lightning
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft67th overall, 1996
St. Louis Blues
152nd overall, 1998
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career1998–2009

Playing career

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As a youth, Dwyer played in the 1992 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Drummondville.[1] He attended Philemon Wright High School in Hull, Quebec, while playing for the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He has also played for the Laval Titan, Beauport Harfangs, Drummondville Voltigeurs, and the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL.[citation needed]

Dwyer was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 3rd round, 67th overall, of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Unable to reach a contract agreement with St. Louis, Dwyer re-entered the draft in 1998 and was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 6th round, 152nd overall.[citation needed]

While a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dwyer achieved notoriety by receiving a 23-game suspension for leaving the penalty box to engage in a brawl, during which he verbally and physically abused officials, in a pre-season game against the Washington Capitals on September 19, 2000. The suspension stands as one of the longest in NHL history.[2]

In 2004, he signed as a free agent by the Carolina Hurricanes but never played for them. He played for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he had 9 points and 183 penalty minutes in 56 games. He remained with Lowell for the 2005–06 season, but due to a shoulder injury he played only 17 games with 4 points and 37 penalty minutes. Dwyer attended the Vancouver Canucks training camp in 2006 hoping to earn a roster space. He also attended the New York Islanders 2007 training camp where he was a late cut. Through 108 NHL contests he never scored a goal, though he obtained 5 assists and 394 penalty minutes.[citation needed]

Dwyer spent the latter half of the 2006–07 season with the Örebro Vipers of Swedish Division 1. In his first game for Örebro, he notched two assists, where he had 15 points and 16 penalty minutes in 11 games. In the 2007–08 season, he played for the Portland Pirates of the AHL, where he had 3 points and 27 penalty minutes in 13 games, and in Villingen-Schwenningen for the SERC Wild Wings in the German Bundesliga, where he had 7 points and 34 penalty minutes in 14 games. He returned to the Örebro Vipers for the 2008–09 season, where he had 7 points and 79 penalty minutes in 13 games.[citation needed]

Coaching career

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Dwyer was named head coach and associate general manager of the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League for the 2009–10 season. Dwyer led a rebuilding team to a regular-season record of 27–20–1–2. The Capitals finished third in the Roger Meek Division and won a seven-game division semifinal series against second-place Miramichi. The Capitals were then eliminated by eventual league champion Woodstock in a five-game division final. In 2010–11, Dwyer returned as the team's head coach and associate director of hockey operations leading Summerside to a second-place finish with a 36–12–1–3 record. Under Dwyer's guidance, the team went on to capture the Kent Cup as league champions with a 12–3 playoff record. Following the season, Dwyer was named the league's coach of the year.[citation needed]

On May 17, 2011, Dwyer was named the head coach of the P.E.I. Rocket of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).[citation needed] In The Hockey News 2011 edition of the 100 Most Powerful people in ice hockey, Dwyer was considered one of the top 40 under the age of 40. This recognition was attributed to his assistance in the development of Tuff 'n Lite, a unisex cut resistant protective sport sock.[3] The Rocket rebranded as the Charlottetown Islanders in 2013. On April 28, 2015, Dwyer was released after four years as head coach of the Rocket/Islanders earning a 116–133–9–14 overall record with the franchise, including a 35–28–1–4 his final post season when the Islanders defeated the Sherbrooke Phoenix to advance to the second round for the first time since 2004. At the time, he had been the longest-serving head coach in franchise history.[citation needed]

On June 15, 2015, Dwyer was named the head coach of the KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[4] On January 31, 2017, Dwyer parted ways with Zagreb to take over the head coaching position at HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss top-flight National League A.[5] His Ambrì-Piotta stint ended at the close of the 2016–17 season.[6]

In July 2017, Dwyer returned to the KHL as head coach of the Belarusian-based HC Dinamo Minsk.[7] He was relieved of his duties on November 9, 2018.[8]

He then returned to the QMJHL for the 2019–20 season as head coach of the Shawinigan Cataractes, but left after one season.[9] In 2021, he became head coach of the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs.[10]

Dwyer has also served as an assistant coach with Team Canada, start from when they won a bronze medal at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championship in the Czech Republic.[citation needed] In December 2016, he served as assistant coach of Team Canada at the prestigious Spengler Cup,[11] helping guide Canada to their 14th title that year.[12] In 2020–21, he was again an assistant coach at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships.[13]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1994–95Hull OlympiquesQMJHL5737102041713454
1995–96Hull OlympiquesQMJHL255914199
1995–96Laval Titan College FrancaisQMJHL225172272
1995–96Beauport HarfangsQMJHL2249138720358104
1996–97Drummondville VoltigeursQMJHL66214869391861739
1997–98Quebec RempartsQMJHL5918274536514491367
1998–99New Orleans BrassECHL361341631100027
1998–99Fredericton CanadiensAHL1400046
1999–00Quebec CitadellesAHL700037
1999–00Detroit VipersIHL27022147
1999–00Tampa Bay LightningNHL24011135
2000–01Detroit VipersIHL24235169
2000–01Tampa Bay LightningNHL2801196
2001–02Springfield FalconsAHL1713480
2001–02Tampa Bay LightningNHL2602260
2002–03Hartford Wolf PackAHL15325117
2002–03New York RangersNHL1701150
2002–03Montreal CanadiensNHL1100046
2003–04Hamilton BulldogsAHL556612110600015
2003–04Montreal CanadiensNHL20007
2004–05Lowell Lock MonstersAHL562791831110154
2005–06Lowell Lock MonstersAHL1704437
2006–07Örebro HKSWE-311871516200028
2007–08Portland PiratesAHL1312327
2007–08Schwenningen ERCDEL1425734701137
2008–09Örebro HKSWE-327481299103254
NHL totals108055394

Coaching record

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TeamYearLeagueRegular SeasonPost Season
GWLTOTLPtsFinishResult
PEI2011–12QMJHL68194324446th in MaritimesMissed playoffs
PEI2012–13QMJHL68412331863rd in MaritimesLost in First round (VAL)
CHA2013–14QMJHL68213935505th in MaritimesLost in First round (HAL)
CHA2014–15QMJHL68352814752nd in MaritimesLost in Second round (QUE)
PEI/CHA Totals272116133914255
SHA2019–20QMJHL63293220604th in CentralSeason cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
SHA Totals6329322060
SNB2021–22QMJHL67461713962nd in MaritimesLost in First round (RIM)
SNB Totals6746171396
QMJHL Totals4022641821217411

Transactions

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References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  2. ^ "About.com: The Longest NHL Suspensions". Archived from the original on 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  3. ^ The Hockey News, Volume 64, Number 14, January 17, 2011, p.25, Publisher: Caroline Andrews, Transcontinental Media
  4. ^ "Dwyer heading back to Croatia for second season coaching in KHL - Hockey - The Guardian". www.theguardian.pe.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  5. ^ "Il canadese Gordie Dwyer è il nuovo allenatore HCAP". www.hcap.ch. Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  6. ^ "Actualité - Ambri confirme Luca Cereda en tant que coach | Planète Hockey". Planète Hockey (in Swiss French). Archived from the original on 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  7. ^ "Gordie Dwyer: It was a season of transition for Minsk". khl.ru. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
  8. ^ "Gordie Dwyer fired by Dinamo Minsk". khl.ru. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
  9. ^ "Cataracts: Gordie Dwyer will not return to Shawinigan". leNouvelliste (in French). 2020-08-04.
  10. ^ "Sea Dogs Name Gordie Dwyer Head Coach". OurSports Central. August 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Luke Richardson named head coach for 2016 Spengler Cup". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  12. ^ "14. Triumph für das Team Canada | Spengler Cup". www.spenglercup.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  13. ^ "ISLANDERS NAMED TO NATIONAL MEN'S UNDER-18 TEAM STAFF". Hockey PEI. 2021-04-01.
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