| Adam Pineault | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 23, 1986 Holyoke, MA, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Right Wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| CZE team Former teams |
HC Pardubice Columbus Blue Jackets |
| National team | United States |
| NHL Draft | 46th overall, 2004 Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Playing career | 2006–present |
Adam Joseph Pineault (born May 23, 1986 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for HC Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga.
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Pineault was drafted 46th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pineault originally was a product of the U.S National Development Program. He then played collegiate hockey in 2003–04 with Boston College before moving on to the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL.
Pineault made his professional debut in the 2006–07 season with the Blue Jackets affiliate, Syracuse Crunch. Pineault made his NHL debut in the 2007–08 season on April 3, 2008, against the Detroit Red Wings.
On January 10, 2009, Pineault was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Chicago Blackhawks for Michael Blunden. He was then assigned to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.[1]
Pineault left for Europe and signed during the 2009–10 season to trial with HC in the Czech Extraliga on November 2, 2009.[2] After appearing in ten games with Pardubice, Pineault established himself offensively and was offered a contract to remain on the team on December 8, 2009.[3] Adding a physical presence and scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 31 games as a role player, Pineault was given an extended multi-year contract to stay in the Czech Republic on May 14, 2010.[4]
Former Moncton Wildcats right winger Adam Pineault has no trouble putting his priorities in order.
The 25-year-old has put his professional hockey career on hold to be with his wife Monique, who is battling cancer. Monique, a Richibucto native whose maiden name is Gauthier, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant on Oct. 6 in Halifax where she remains in hospital.
"Hockey is just a game," said Pineault. "If I need to take the season off from playing, there's no question I will do that. My wife is by far the most important thing to me.
"I love the game, but family comes first. I will only go back to playing hockey when I feel comfortable knowing that my wife is doing well."
Pineault played two seasons for Moncton and helped the club capture the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship in 2005-06. The Wildcats are holding an auction on Thursday from 6-9 p.m. at the Legends Lounge Restaurant in the Moncton Coliseum with proceeds going to help him and his wife.
Tickets for the auction are free of charge and will be available at the Wildcats office beginning on Monday. There's a limited number of tickets due to the restaurant's attendance capacity.
There will be numerous items available for bids. A sampling includes a 2010-11 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup champion signed jersey, a 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup finalist jersey, Team Canada and Team USA autographed jerseys from the 2010 Olympics, a trip to the Bahamas, a Bobby Orr autographed jersey, sticks, jerseys and pictures from various NHL players, televisions and golf green fees.
If anyone has an item they want to donate for the auction, they can drop it off at the Wildcats office. There will be live and silent auctions, finger food and entertainment during the evening.
Pineault, a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2004 National Hockey League draft, has played professionally for five seasons. He spent his three seasons in the American Hockey League and got called up for three NHL games.
The native of Holyoke, Mass., near Boston, played the past two seasons in the Czech Republic's top professional league. He signed a three-year contract to return there, but ended up voiding it after his wife was diagnosed with cancer in June.
"It was an awesome experience in the Czech Republic," he said. "Dominic Hasek was our goaltender and we won the championship in my first season there. He's as popular there as Sidney Crosby is in Canada. He gets absolutely mobbed.
"Our games were sold out every night with 12,000 fans. We won the championship on the road and when we arrived hom at 3 o'clock in the morning there was about 30,000 people waiting to celebrate with us. It was mayhem."
Columbus invited Pineault to NHL training camp in September, but he couldn't attend because he wanted to be with his wife for her medical appointments. He attended camp with their farm club, the AHL's Springfield Falcons.
"Columbus was awesome with me," he said. "I went to Springfield's camp for five days. I had a great talk with the coach and general manager and they were nice enough to put me in some pre-season games.
"After a game on Sept. 29, I packed up my things and returned to Halifax to be with my wife at the hospital. My dad and my wife are both going through cancer now. It's been a tough year, but I have faith."
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston Junior Bruins | EJHL | 57 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | U.S. National Development Team | USDP | 58 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | U.S. National Development Team | USDP | 56 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Boston College | HE | 29 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL | 61 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 64 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | ||
| 2005–06 | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL | 55 | 29 | 30 | 59 | 94 | 21 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 25 | ||
| 2006–07 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 57 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 74 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 64 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 29 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 41 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Pardubice | CZE | 31 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 67 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Pardubice | CZE | 48 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 60 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | United States | WJC18 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2005 | United States | WJC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Junior int'l totals | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||