Number: 75 Height: 6’7” Weight: 241 Shoots: Left Born: April 15, 1975 Birthplace: Concord, MA, USA Drafted: BOS, 1993 Round: 8th (207th overall) Acquired: Signed as a free agent July 1st, 2009
The Early Years
Hal Gill grew up in Concord, a small town in Massachusetts. In his teenage years, he attended Nashoba Regional High School, where he played football for the Chieftains. Hal, the team’s quarterback, had a strong throwing arm and was known as a very good decision maker. When asked, Hal’s high school coach said that Gill could have turned out like Tom Brady had he continued a football career!
Even if he was better known as a football player, Gill was also a member of his school’s hockey team. When he finished high school, Gill had to choose what sport he wanted to play in college: football or hockey. After all these years, Hal admits that this decision is probably the hardest one he had to make in his like. Gill thought about it a lot. He realized he had invested a lot and would miss it too much to quit it, so he decided to accept Providence College’s hockey scholarship offer.
The Hockey Years
In June 1993, a couple of months before going to college, Gill received a call from a recruiter telling him he had been drafted by the Boston Bruins. It was quite a surprise to Gill since he didn’t even know it was the NHL draft! But before joining the Bruins, the defenseman first attended Providence College in Rhode Island.
At the beginning, Gill didn’t get as much ice time as he wanted, which made him doubt his choice. He asked himself many times if he had made the right decision choosing hockey over football. In the college career, Gill still managed to play 131 games, in which he scored 12 goals and 31 assists.
After spending four years with the Providence Friars, Gill started the 1997-1998 season with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate team and after only 4 games (1G-0A), he got called up by the Bruins. Playing for the B’s was very special to Gill because it gave him the chance to play alongside his idol Raymond Bourque. Gill says it’s an honour to have played with Bourque and that at every occasion he had, he tried to learn from him.
During the NHL’s lock-out, Gill played in Finland, where he scored 2 goals and 8 assists in the 31 games he played for the Lukko Rauma.
When he came back to North America, the defenseman played his final season with the Bruins.
On July 1st 2006, he signed a three year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Two years later, in February 2008, Gill got traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins where he won the Stanley Cup in 2009.
The summer after he won the cup, Gill was looking for a new contract. Since the Penguins weren’t ready to give him the 2 years he wanted, Gill went on to sign with the Montreal Canadiens instead.
In 2011, he signed a one-year contract extension with the Habs.
Hockey Firsts
First Game : October 17th 1997 against the Vancouver Canucks
First Goal : November 13th 1997 against the St-Louis Blues
First Assist : November 6th 1997 against the Washington Capitals
Canadiens First Game : October 1st 2009 against the Toronto Maple Leafs
Canadiens First Goal : October 31st 2009 against the Toronto Maple Leafs
Canadiens First Assist : December 4th 2009 against the Boston Bruins
Personal Life
Hal Gill met his wife Anne in college. After a year of being friends, they started dating, and after four years of dating, they got married. They now have two daughters, Isabelle, who was born in 2004, and Sophie, in 2007.
Random/Fun Facts
In the team’s locker room at Providence College, Gill’s spot in the locker room was identified with a “Gill 3” sticker. One of his teammate decided to write “Skill 0” over it as a joke. After the Bauer representative came to take the orders, Gill’s skates were delivered to the name Skillo. The nickname stuck and ever since, Gill’s nickname is Skillsy.
When he won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, Gill brought it to his high school in order to raise money for a new football field and managed to collect over $5000. He also brought it to the Little Wonderers, a home for abused children.
What Hal Gill prefers in Montreal is the Bell Centre, which has always been his favourite arena. He also loves the restaurants, the different cultures and the city’s nightlife.
