Adrian Aucoin

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

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Adrian Aucoin (born July 3, 1973 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the NHL.

Playing career

Aucoin was drafted 117th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, a late-round steal given his longevity and success in the league. With the Canucks, Aucoin established himself as a significant offensive threat, specifically on the power-play. However, it was not until his fourth full season with the team that this became evident, as he rose dramatically from just 3 goals in 1997-98 to 23 the next season, 18 of which came on the power-play (an NHL-record shared with Denis Potvin and Sheldon Souray) [citeweb|last=Hickey|first=Pat|title=Souray ties NHL record for power-play goals by defenceman in a season|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/sports/story.html?id=9d9680ed-68f1-47d6-8b52-c63500a32deb|publisher=The Gazette|year=2007|accessdate=2008-04-16] . In addition to leading defenceman in goals and power-play goals in the 1998-99 NHL season, Aucoin also led all defencemen in shorthanded goals (2) and game-winning goals (3).

However, after one and half seasons, Aucoin's offensive production dropped to the point where he had only 3 goals through 47 games in 2000-01. On February 7, 2001, Aucoin (along with a second-round pick for the 2001 NHL Entry Draft) was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for goaltender Dan Cloutier. He only played 26 regular-season games for the Lightning before being traded in the off-season with Alexander Kharitonov to the New York Islanders for Mathieu Biron and a second-round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

With the Islanders, Aucoin put up the most consistent offensive numbers of his career, including a career-high 33 assists and 44 points in 2003-04.

In 2004-05, he represented MODO Hockey of the Swedish Elitserien during the NHL lockout. Once NHL play resumed, Aucoin signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on August 2, 2005 for four years. However, the first two seasons of his contract were hampered by injuries, and in the off-season prior to the 2007-08 campaign, Aucoin waived his no-trade clause and was sent with a seventh-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames for defencemen Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr.

In his first season with Calgary, Aucoin recorded at least 30 points for the fifth time in his career.

Awards & achievements

*NHL record; single-season power-play goals by a defenceman - 18 (1998-99)
*Babe Pratt Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' best defenceman) - 1999

Transactions

*June 20, 1992 - Drafted 117th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks
*February 7, 2001 - Traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2nd round draft pick (2001 NHL Entry Draft) for Dan Cloutier
*June 22, 2001 - Traded to the New York Islanders with Alexander Kharitonov for Mathieu Biron and a 2nd round draft pick (2002 NHL Entry Draft)
*August 2, 2005 - Signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks
*June 22, 2007 - Traded to the Calgary Flames with a 7th round draft pick for Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr

Career statistics

International Play

Aucoin played for Team Canada in:
*1993 World Junior Championships
*1994 Winter Olympics (silver)
*2000 World Championships

International statistics

Note: With Adrian Aucoin injured & out of the lineup, Martin Lapointe served as Blackhawks captain for the balance of the 2005-06 NHL season.

External links

*hockeydb|133

References