Michel Périard
# Michel Périard

Michel Périard (born November 10, 1979) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent who last played for the Jonquière Marquis in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).

Périard played for several minor-league teams across four leagues before moving to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2005 where he remained until 2017. He holds a German passport since October 2015.

## Playing career

Périard played junior hockey with Shawinigan Cataractes from 1997 until 1999, when he was traded to the Rimouski Oceanic to play with the club in the run to the Memorial Cup.

Périard was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the seventh round (188th overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, but did not sign with the club in the two years after the draft. He became a free agent and signed with the Florida Panthers in August 2000. Périard was assigned to the Rockford Ice Hogs for the 2000–01 season. Périard would play the next four seasons with various American minor league teams.

In 2005, Périard moved to Europe, signing with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has played since then in the DEL. In 2009, he transferred to Frankfurt Lions. He played the 2010–11 season with the Adler Mannheim of the DEL.

Upon completion of the 2012–13 season, Périard agreed to return for his third year with Ingolstadt in signing a one-year contract extension on April 30, 2013.

On September 7, 2015, Périard belatedly signed a contract to remain in Germany, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Iserlohn Roosters. In February 2016, it was announced that Périard has signed a contract extension with the Roosters that will keep him at the club through the 2016–17 season. After the 2016–17 season with the Roosters, in which he posted 15 assists, as Iserlohn finished out of playoff contention, it was announced that Périard's contract would not be renewed.

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1996–97 | Collège Charles-Lemoyne | QMAAA | 40 | 8 | 15 | 23 | | 15 | 7 | 20 | 27 | |
| 1997–98 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL | 68 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 64 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 1998–99 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL | 64 | 14 | 40 | 54 | 90 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1999–2000 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 70 | 25 | 75 | 100 | 58 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 16 |
| 2000–01 | Port Huron Border Cats | UHL | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Rockford IceHogs | UHL | 31 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Louisville Panthers | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | Macon Whoopee | ECHL | 72 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Laredo Bucks | CHL | 50 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 2002–03 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 77 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 52 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 51 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 48 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 2006–07 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 51 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 82 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| 2007–08 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 56 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 2008–09 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | 49 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2009–10 | Frankfurt Lions | DEL | 56 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2010–11 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 50 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 48 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| 2012–13 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 49 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 49 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 16 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 |
| 2014–15 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 45 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 26 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | Iserlohn Roosters | DEL | 44 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | Iserlohn Roosters | DEL | 42 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Jonquière Marquis | LNAH | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| AHL totals | AHL totals | AHL totals | 146 | 14 | 50 | 64 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — |
| DEL totals | DEL totals | DEL totals | 590 | 67 | 211 | 278 | 407 | 89 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 56 |

## Awards and honours

* Emile Bouchard Trophy - QMJHL Defenceman of the Year (1999–2000)
* Memorial Cup Champion with Rimouski Océanic (2000)
* Memorial Cup All-Star Team (2000)
* Played in the CHL All-Star game (2002–03)
* Central Hockey League Most Outstanding Defenceman (2002–03)
