McGill University Athletics

A native Montrealer now residing in Columbia, S.C., Gilles Hudon starred for four years on the hockey rink at McGill, patrolling the blue line from 1980 to 1984 before graduating with an arts degree, majoring in economics and political science.

Born on April 4, 1960, Hudon quickly made it up through the ranks and played at the midget level for the NDG Maroons. At 18 years of age, he received a scholarship offer in 1978-79 from future NHL coach Bob Johnson to play for him at the NCAA's University of Wisconsin. When things didn't work out after his freshman year, Hudon returned to Canada, where he played for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In less than two seasons there, he tallied a 16-38-54 record with 159 penalty minutes in 91 regular season contests.

The rugged, 6-foot-1, 205-pound defenceman was recruited to McGill by head coach Ken Tyler and was the institution's first player to receive a Hockey Canada scholarship. Hudon established himself as one of the toughest and most-skilled players in the Quebec University Athletics Association. He was the top-scoring defenceman in the QUAA conference for two consecutive seasons. He served his last two years as team captain and became McGill's all-time top-scoring defenceman -- a record that stood for 28 years -- collecting 152 points, including 45 goals in 130 career contests overall.

A three-time league all-star from 1981 to 1984, Hudon twice won the Bobby Bell trophy as Team MVP and received the Forbes Trophy as McGill's male athlete of the year in 1984. He attracted the attention of the national team and played for Canada at the 1983 Pravda Prize Tournament in Leningrad. He was invited to the Olympic team eastern tryout camp in June, 1983 and the national camp in August but was one of the last cuts made from the Olympic team roster prior to the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo.

Almost four decades after he last suited up for McGill, he still owns the school career record for highest points-per-game average by a defenceman (1.17) and the single-season marks for most goals and points overall by a rearguard. He posted a sizzling 22-32-54 total in 40 games overall during the 1983-84 campaign. During that remarkable season, he was on the ice for 60 per cent of McGill's 97 regular season goals and 80 per cent of their power-play markers (32 of 40).

Hudon, also became the team's most penalized player, racking up 416 PIMs, a record that stood for three decades. He tallied four career hat-tricks, still a school mark for blue liners, including a personal-best four-goal outing against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a 6-2 home-ice victory on Feb. 20, 1982. He also had four assists in an 8-5 win at Chicoutimi (Nov. 15/81) and registered a six-point performance in a 14-4 conquest over Chicoutimi (UQAC) on Oct. 24, 1981.