Saturday, February 3rd.

Brandon Gignac goes to Place Bell in Laval for a game against the Rochester Americans.

The 26-year-old striker enters the doors of the amphitheater, home of the Rocket, as the club's first goalscorer and point collector. He has picked up just six points in his last three games.

The day before, he learned of the Sean Monahan trade, sending the Canadian to the Jets in return for a first-round pick and a conditional third-round selection.

Monahan's departure, Gignac said immediately, would leave a gap in CH training. A hole in the middle. And that position was his too.

But there is a small drawback: Gignac only has a contract in the American League. In this context, a recall concerning him is excluded.

“But with the trade of Sean, he really started to believe in his chances of getting that famous contract and talking about it,” admits his brother William in an interview with TVASports.ca (Interview, which you can watch in full by clicking on the video at the top of the article).

The Saturday game, which will be played in the afternoon, begins. The entire Gignac family watches the confrontation. The clan must go to the restaurant at the end of the duel.

Brandon is still out of contract when the puck hits the ice.

2:27 and three quarters later the Rocket were defeated 3-1. Alone… Gignac scored for Laval. And he didn't do things by halves.

“After the game the whole family was waiting to see if there would be any positive news. He left the arena and told us there was nothing new. We were a little disappointed.

“We then took the road towards the restaurant, but when he got into the building he said with a smile, “I think I’ll buy you the round tonight!”

“Then everyone burst into joy. My mother is very expressive. She started to cry. My father was also moved. The whole family lined up to hug him. There were several people in the restaurant wondering what was going on!”

The star of minor hockey from Repentin

The Gignac family's emotional reaction can easily be explained by the fact that Brandon's path to this long-awaited contract was anything but typical.

Brandon and his Repentigny-born brother William (one year older) were quickly catapulted into the world of ice hockey by their father.

“Our dad put ice skates on us when we were three years old,” says William. A few months later we started playing within the Repentigny Minor Hockey Association. To be honest, my brother was very talented from the start. In fact, he was simply the best in his year.”

Anyone who has ever seen Brandon Gignac in action for two minutes at an ice rink knows that the young man is lightning fast. In fact, speed is the central element of his game.

On Sunday, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard also admitted that Gignac was “certainly one of the fastest players to ever play in his team, in all categories combined.”

And imagine that Gignac naturally carries this quality.

“He was always very fast. My father got us into inline skating at a young age. At three years old, I think. And Brandon was already moving like a rocket. It was easy to turn and everything. It was just natural. Whether it was running or skating, he was always one of the fastest.”

Climb the ladder… with his brother

The years pass and an unfailing chemistry develops between the Gignac brothers, between whom, as we remember, there is only a small year difference. A chemistry that many brothers and sisters are certainly jealous of.

“We’re really lucky,” says William with a smile in his voice. We've done everything together! I went outside to play hockey and he always followed me. I always had a hockey partner by my side. The number of hours you spend playing roller hockey is honestly just immense!

“We also destroyed the basement of the family home by shooting pucks (laughs). Our parents also deserve a big thank you for this. We had a lot of fun!”

And since Brandon and his brother are about the same caliber, they also have the chance to play on the same team every two years.

“We were able to play together in Pee-Wee, Bantam and even Midget AAA where we were in the same trio. Everything was more motivating together.”

In 2013, both boys were drafted into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Second-round pick Brandon is headed to Shawinigan. William found a buyer in the 12th round through the Chicoutimi Saguenéens organization.

“I don’t want to hide the fact that I made his life difficult several times when we were young. I didn't want him to win against me. It was me, the older of the two! And when he won, I was elated (laughs). But our second junior year, he really hit it Step Compared to me. So I told myself I just wanted to see him succeed.”

The dream of your life…

Without being an incredible point producer, Brendan Gignac stands out among the Cats. His speed (of course!), but also his level of competition and versatility encouraged the New Jersey Devils to select him in the third round of the 2016 NHL auction.

Two years later he played his first game in the National Hockey League.

On March 9, 2019, he donned the Devils uniform in a duel against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

He plays just over nine minutes, shoots and ends his evening's work with -2.

Brandon didn't feel particularly bad that night. However, the truth is that the Devils then need a forward due to their numerous injuries. One of them is also ready to return in the next game and Gignac thus returns to the American League.

…then the wall

Gignac has big intentions for the future. That big league game made him hungry. But for several reasons the breakthrough failed in the following season.

Then, in 2021, the wall.

During the season, after two games in the American League, Gignac was sent to the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL. It is March 3, 2021, almost exactly three years to the day after the young man's NHL game.

“I think that's not the case did not with what the coach wanted from him at that moment. “Maybe he wasn't mature enough to accept the role the team wanted to give him,” William openly explains his time in the ECHL as a hypothesis.

Photo credit: The Florida Times

What makes this ordeal easier for Brandon, difficult as it is for morale, is his reunion with his childhood friend Pascal Aquin, another Repentignois by birth, with whom he played in the minor ranks and in the Cataractes of Shawinigan. Sometimes things go well in life (despite everything)…

“When Brandon arrived in Jacksonville, he quickly became my roommate. We spent quite a bit of time together. He had a good attitude from the start. He kept telling himself that even though he was in the ECHL, it wasn't the end. That he was able to overcome this obstacle by staying positive and working hard.

And those words finally became foreboding…

“We never thought it would be possible…”

At the end of his season in the ECHL, where he excelled at all levels, the Laval Rocket offered Gignac a one-year contract in the AHL. We are then at the start of the 2021-2022 season.

“I really think it clicked at that moment,” says his brother. He used this opportunity as an opportunity to start over. Little by little he developed a very nice relationship with Jean-François Houle. Let's not forget that he wasn't even in the Rocket's lineup to begin with! He was then used in the fourth row and was outnumbered. But today he is reaping the fruits of his labor.”

“Brandon is the perfect example of the saying that anything is possible. William says proudly that he is 26 years old and will play for the Montreal Canadiens. We never thought it was possible. Never.”

“It’s like unreal”

The Gignac family will not be able to travel to Washington on Tuesday to attend Brandon's first game in blue, white and red.

“But we’ll all be at the Bell Center this weekend!” William quickly points out.

Photo credit: Courtesy: Gignac family

Several years after the intense roller hockey games, the shootouts in the family basement and the countless games as teammates, the Gignac brothers are preparing for a new adventure. An adventure that isn't full of worms.

“Brandon and I talked about it yesterday. When we were young, our dad bought us Canadiens caps. We could watch two CH games before bed. It's surreal to think that from now on, when I watch a Canadiens game, he'll be on the ice…in their uniform! I will no longer look at it as a fan, but as a brother.”