Éric Gélinas

Éric Gélinas
Born	(1991-05-08) May 8, 1991 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Ice hockey defenseman
Years active	2011–present
Known for	Playing for New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, Lukko (Liiga)

Éric Gélinas (born May 8, 1991) is a Canadian ice hockey defenseman currently playing for Lukko in the Liiga. He was chosen 54th overall in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Gélinas has also been a member of the Colorado Avalanche during his professional career.

Amateur

Starting hockey at the age of four, Gélinas modeled his style after Chris Pronger, even adopting Pronger's number 44 as his own. He spent two seasons competing at the major junior level with the now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In the 2008–09 season, he led all defensemen on his team with ten goals and 29 assists over 67 games and earned an invitation to the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game. That same year, he was selected by the New Jersey Devils as the 54th pick overall in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft.

Following the dissolution of the Maineiacs in 2011, Gélinas played one and a half seasons with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens before being traded to the Saint John Sea Dogs. He contributed to the Sea Dogs' victory in the 2011 Memorial Cup, where they defeated the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the championship game.

Professional

Transitioning to professional hockey after his junior career, Gélinas joined Albany Devils, New Jersey’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, appearing in 75 games during the 2011–12 season. He tied for first among AHL defensemen with 16 goals, earned recognition as Albany’s best defenseman, and ranked 16th among all defensemen in points with a total of 37.

In the following season (2012–13), he suffered a broken jaw during preseason which sidelined him for nearly two months but returned to participate in 57 games, recording six goals and 16 assists. On April 23, 2013, Gélinas was promoted to the New Jersey Devils and made his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. His first NHL goal came on October 24, 2013, against Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks.

After completing the 2014–15 campaign, Gélinas became a restricted free agent. Although New Jersey extended a qualifying offer, he opted for salary arbitration on July 5, 2015. During the 2015–16 season, he was traded to Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Approaching restricted free agency again on June 26, 2017, Colorado chose not to tender him a qualifying offer, allowing him to enter free agency. On August 29, 2017, Gélinas signed a professional tryout contract with Montreal Canadiens but subsequently inked a deal with their AHL affiliate Laval Rocket. In that season with Laval (2017–18), he tallied 13 goals and totaled 26 points over 64 games.

Unable to secure an NHL contract afterward, Gélinas agreed to a one-year contract with Slovak KHL club Slovan Bratislava on August 23, 2018. During the 2018–19 season, he assumed a top-four defensive role with Slovan and contributed five goals along with fifteen points across 52 games before moving to Swedish SHL side Rögle BK for their playoff run.

After spending three seasons playing in Europe, Gélinas returned to North America by signing a one-year two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on June 13, 2021. Beginning the season assigned to their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves, he scored two goals in nine contests before mutually agreeing to terminate his contract on November 21, 2021.

Just two days later, he re-signed with Rögle BK for the remainder of that season but managed only two points through twelve appearances. On February 12, 2022, Gélinas transferred within the SHL to Djurgårdens IF—a club battling relegation—where he added four goals and six points over thirteen games despite their eventual demotion.

While playing for Djurgårdens IF, Gélinas secured a two-year agreement with Swiss National League team SC Bern on February 15, 2022. Limited to fifteen regular-season appearances during the 2022–23 campaign, he was released from his final contract year and subsequently joined HC Ajoie on June 20, 2023.

In December of 2024, Gélinas signed with Rauman Lukko and rapidly established himself as an integral component of their power-play unit, registering six goals and eleven assists across twenty-one games before sustaining a knee injury in February that sidelined him. Despite this injury setback, Lukko extended his contract through to the conclusion of the 2025–26 season.

Personal life

Marc Gélinas, Jonathan Gélinas' father, and his elder sibling, Karl, both have backgrounds in baseball. Marc was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1978 Major League Baseball draft, whereas Karl was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft and is currently active with the Québec Capitales in the CanAm League. Additionally, his uncle Pierre Gelinas played professionally in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Lewiston MAINEiacs	QMJHL		54	3	16	19	34		5	0	0	0	2
2008–09	Lewiston MAINEiacs	QMJHL		67	10	29	39	80		4	0	1	1	12
2009–10	Lewiston MAINEiacs	QMJHL		33	3	16	19	33		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Chicoutimi Saguenéens	QMJHL		28	3	9	12	26		6	1	4	5	6
2010–11	Chicoutimi Saguenéens	QMJHL		35	9	15	24	41		—	—	—	—
2010–11	Saint John Sea Dogs	QMJHL		27	3	17	20	26		19	5	7	12	25
2011–12	Albany Devils	AHL		75	16	21	37	55
2012–13	Albany Devils	AHL		57	6	16	22	46
2012–13 NHL season	New Jersey Devils	National Hockey League | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2013–14 AHL season | Albany Devils | AHL |13 |1 |4 |5 |10 |4 |0 |1 |1 |0 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2013–14 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |60 |7 |22 |29 |22 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2014–15 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |61 |6 |13 |19 |42 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2015–16 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |34 |1 |5 |6 |16 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
Colorado Avalanche |NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2016–17 NHL season | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2016–17 AHL season | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 27 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 |-bgcolor="#f0f0f۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ف۰ ف০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০ ফ০০ ف০০ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف০০ ف০০ ف০০ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ ف০০ ف০০ ف০০ ف۰۰ ف০০ ف০০ ف۰۰ ف۰۰ फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० फ० ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ ф٠ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ フ０ Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 Ф00 ΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi Phi PhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPhiPh... External links