Earlier on Tuesday, the New York Islanders announced the hiring of long long-time NHL veteran Pascal Dupuis as Director of Player Development.
Before being hired by the Islanders, Dupuis had been working with the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL for the last six years and was a jack of all trades. He spent time as an Assistant Coach, Assistant General Manager, Hockey Operations Assistant Director, and Director of Player Development. All while representing the organization as a partial owner.
Islanders General Manager and Executive Vice President Mathieu Darche addressed the hiring, saying, “Pascal is exactly the kind of person we want shaping the next generation of Islanders. His story is one every young player in our system can learn from, as nothing was handed to him.”
Undrafted out of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft after a fractured leg cost him his draft-eligible season, Dupuis broke through over four QMJHL seasons, the last three with the Shawinigan Cataractes, and signed his first NHL contract with the expansion Minnesota Wild in 2000. He spent most of that first year in the IHL before debuting late in 2000-01, then worked his way into a regular role and a Western Conference Final run in 2003.
After the deadline moves through the Rangers and Thrashers, Dupuis landed in Pittsburgh in the February 2008 trade that sent him and Marian Hossa to the Penguins. There he found his footing alongside Sidney Crosby, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 and settling in as a durable, defensively reliable top-line winger before blood clot issues forced his retirement in December 2015. He retired with 190 goals and 219 assists for 409 points in 871 regular-season games across 15 NHL seasons, and additionally posted 44 points in 97 playoff games.
The Islanders have plenty to be excited about with their young core, and entrusting its development to someone with Dupuis’ reputation only strengthens the case.
