Julien Vauclair (born October 2, 1979) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenseman who spent most of his career with HC Lugano in the National League (NL). He made his professional debut in 1996 with HC Ajoie in Switzerland's second tier, Swiss League (SL). He spent three seasons within the Ottawa Senators organization of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators selected him 74th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Julien Vauclair
Born (1979-10-02) October 2, 1979 (age 45)
Delémont, Switzerland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for HC Ajoie
Grand Rapids Griffins
Binghamton Senators
Ottawa Senators
HC Lugano
National team   Switzerland
NHL draft 74th overall, 1998
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 1996–2020

Playing career

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As a youth, Vauclair played in the 1992 and 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from Switzerland.[1]

Vauclair was drafted 74th overall by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played one NHL game for the Senators in the 2003–04 NHL season. Vauclair has also played in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Binghamton Senators. Vauclair began his professional career with Lugano in 1998, and he returned to them in 2004 and has played for them since.

On June 2, 2019, Vauclair agreed to a one-year contract extension with HC Lugano, stating that this would be his final season of professional hockey.

On March 26, 2020, Vauclair officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.[2] Vauclair played all of his 791 regular season games (273 points) in the National League with HC Lugano, as well as 154 playoffs games (34 points). He won 2 NL titles with the team and was named twice to the NL Media Swiss All-Star Team. In addition to that, his jersey with the number 3 was to be retired by HC Lugano in the 2020–21 season, however with the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, his jersey was later retired in a game against HC Ajoie on 16 September 2022.[3][4]

International play

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Vauclair has played internationally for Switzerland in three Olympics and nine World Championships, winning a silver medal in the 2013 World Championships. On January 6, 2014, Vauclair was named to Team Switzerland's official 2014 Winter Olympics roster.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 HC Ajoie SUI.3 20 4 10 14
1996–97 HC Ajoie SUI.2 40 0 6 6 24
1997–98 HC Lugano SUI U20 10 7 4 11 10
1997–98 HC Lugano NDA 36 1 2 3 12 7 0 0 0 25
1998–99 HC Lugano SUI U20 18 10 14 24 14 1 0 0 0 0
1998–99 HC Lugano NDA 38 0 3 3 8 16 0 0 0 2
1999–00 HC Lugano NLA 45 3 3 6 16 14 0 0 0 0
2000–01 HC Lugano NLA 42 3 4 7 57 18 0 1 1 4
2001–02 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 71 5 14 19 18 4 0 1 1 4
2002–03 Binghamton Senators AHL 67 6 16 22 30 14 0 1 1 8
2003–04 Binghamton Senators AHL 78 9 30 39 39 2 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Ottawa Senators NHL 1 0 0 0 2
2004–05 HC Lugano NLA 42 4 7 11 28 3 0 0 0 2
2005–06 HC Lugano NLA 31 6 6 12 32 17 2 4 6 12
2006–07 HC Lugano NLA 39 7 9 16 50 5 1 1 2 10
2007–08 HC Lugano NLA 49 10 21 31 34
2008–09 HC Lugano NLA 50 10 35 45 56 7 1 1 2 6
2009–10 HC Lugano NLA 35 13 15 28 64 4 0 1 1 10
2010–11 HC Lugano NLA 40 12 17 29 38
2011–12 HC Lugano NLA 41 4 8 12 28 6 1 1 2 6
2012–13 HC Lugano NLA 47 7 9 16 24 7 1 2 3 4
2013–14 HC Lugano NLA 31 3 8 11 18 5 0 1 1 2
2014–15 HC Lugano NLA 38 6 7 13 30 6 0 1 1 6
2015–16 HC Lugano NLA 42 1 7 8 53 12 2 2 4 10
2016–17 HC Lugano NLA 27 1 9 10 22 6 4 0 4 0
2017–18 HC Lugano NL 38 5 7 12 16 14 1 3 4 4
2018–19 HC Lugano NL 44 4 6 10 24 3 0 0 0 2
2019–20 HC Lugano NL 36 0 0 0 22
NL totals 791 100 173 273 632 150 13 17 30 105
AHL totals 216 20 60 80 87 20 0 2 2 12
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 2

International

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Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
  2013 Sweden/Finland
World Junior Championships
  1998 Finland
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1997 Switzerland EJC18 6 1 0 1 4
1998 Switzerland WJC 7 1 2 3 12
1999 Switzerland WJC 6 1 1 2 6
1999 Switzerland WC 6 0 0 0 2
2000 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 0
2001 Switzerland WC 6 1 0 1 27
2002 Switzerland OLY 4 1 0 1 2
2002 Switzerland WC 6 0 2 2 2
2004 Switzerland WC 5 0 0 0 16
2005 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 10
2006 Switzerland OLY 6 0 0 0 6
2006 Switzerland WC 6 0 0 0 4
2007 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 4
2008 Switzerland WC 7 1 1 2 4
2010 Switzerland WC 7 1 1 2 0
2011 Switzerland WC 6 1 1 2 2
2013 Switzerland WC 10 0 3 3 2
2014 Switzerland OLY 4 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 19 3 3 6 22
Senior totals 88 5 8 13 81

Awards

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  • 2004 AHL All-Star Game
  • 2013 World Championships All-Star Team

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "Il punt della situazione". HC Lugano. 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "Julien Vauclair jersey retired in ceremony" (in Italian). alamy.com. September 16, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Julien Vauclair to have number retired by HC Lugano". swisshockeynews.ch. March 30, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Winter Olympics 2014: Switzerland unveils men's ice hockey roster". SBNation.com. February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
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