News

Habs sign McGill grad Mathieu Darche

Published: 2 July 2009

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Mathieu Darche to a one-year, two-way contract, Wednesday. An unrestricted free agent and a product of the McGill University Redmen, he played 80 games last season for Portland in the American Hockey League, scoring 66 points, including a team-leading 31 goals.

Darche, a 32-year-old native of St. Laurent, Que., has played in the National Hockey League with Columbus, Nashville, San Jose and Tampa Bay. In 101 career NHL games, he has scored eight goals and 24 points with 26 penalty minutes.

Darche became the 10th player out of McGill to make the NHL and is one of 158 Canadian university players who has made the leap to that level. About to enter his 10th professional season, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound left wing originally signed as a free agent with Columbus in 2000 after four seasons with McGill, where he was an All-Canadian, served as captain, earned Team MVP honours and registered 170 points, including 78 goals, in 133 games. He also played one season of varsity football at McGill, won the Forbes trophy as male athlete of the year and graduated with a commerce degree in 2000.

If Darche cracks the Canadiens lineup, he would become the third McGill grad to do so and the first since left winger Jack McGill was with the Habs from 1934 to 1937. Nels Crutchfield, a defenceman, was the other Redmen player to skate for the Canadiens in 1934-35.

In eight American Hockey League campaigns, Darche has a 196-222-418 record with 286 PIMs in 520 regular-season contests with Syracuse, Milwaukee, Hershey, Worcester, Norfolk and Portland. In 2003-04, he won the Calder Cup championship with Milwaukee. He has been the top goal-scorer with five different AHL teams.

Darche’s 34-year-old brother Jean-Philippe, a former all-star linebacker at McGill, recently completed his ninth season in the National Football League. He played the last two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs after seven years as a long snapper with the Seattle Seahawks.

Among the McGill players who have made the NHL, two earned the league’s rookie-of-the-year honours -- goaltender Jack Gelineau with the Bruins in 1949-50 and Russ Blinco with the Montreal Maroons in 1933-34.

FORMER McGILL PLAYERS IN THE NHL

Bert Lindsay (goaltender; played 1917-19 with Montreal Wanderers and Toronto Arenas)

Sam Rothschild (left wing; played 1924-28 with Montreal Maroons, NY Americans & Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lester Patrick (defenceman; played 1926-28 with New York Rangers; also coached from 1926-39)

*Russ Blinco (forward; played 1933-39 with Montreal Maroons and Chicago Blackhawks)

Nels Crutchfield (defenceman; played 1934-35 with Montreal Canadiens)

Jack McGill (left wing; played 1934-37 with Montreal Canadiens)

Johnny Peirson (forward; played 1946-58 with Boston Bruins)

*Jack Gelineau (goaltender; played 1948-54 with Boston & Chicago)

Reggie Sinclair (right wing; played 1950-53 with New York & Detroit)

Mathieu Darche (left wing; played 2000-08 with Columbus, Nashville, San Jose, Tampa Bay)

*voted NHL Rookie of the Year