Julien Vauclair

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

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

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

Regular season and playoffs

				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

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

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

See also

• List of players who played only one game in the NHL