Gabriel Dumont

History

2009-10: Gabriel Dumont enjoyed a great deal of offensive success in 2009-10 with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. His production has exploded, resulting in new career highs in goals, assists, and points. The Voltigeurs have been dominant this year, ranked second in goals for, and second overall in the QMJHL standings. Dumont has benefited from playing with 2011 top prospect Sean Couturier, but cannot be fully discredited either.

2010-11: Dumont filled a valuable energy line role as a 20-year-old and chipped in offensively during the playoffs for AHL Hamilton in his first pro season. In 64 regular season games, Dumont, a 51-goal scorer for Drummondville the previous season, tallied a modest 5 goals with 13 assists. He was fourth on the team with 79 PMs and had a -4 plus/minus. In 20 playoff games he scored 6 goals with 3 assists and was -3 with just 6 PMs as the North Division champs advanced to the AHL semifinals.

2011-12: Dumont was one of the more consistent Bulldogs this season and he managed to produce more offensive despite missing nine games with a shoulder injury. The small sized forward scored 13 goals (Five on the power play and one shorthanded) along with 11 assists and a poor minus 15 rating in 59 games on a poor Hamilton team. He had a cup of coffee in the NHL at the end of the regular season.

2012-13: Dumont played 10 regular season games and three playoff contests for Montreal in his third pro season, spending most of the year with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He made his regular season debut in a March 9th game at Tampa Bay. Dumont scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was +1 with 13 penalty minutes; averaging 9:40 minutes of ice time. In three playoff games in Montreal’s series against Ottawa he had no points and was an even plus/minus with 12 penalty minutes. Dumont scored 16 goals with 15 assists in 55 AHL games with Hamilton and was -2 with 83 penalty minutes. The Bulldogs missed the playoffs after finishing last in the North Division. The Canadiens re-signed Dumont to a two-year contract as a restricted free agent in July 2013. 

2013-14: Dumont skated in two November games for Montreal in his fourth pro season — spending most of the year with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He had no points nor penalties, averaging seven minutes of ice-time with Montreal. Dumont scored 19 goals with 17 assists and was -10 with 111 penalty minutes in 74 AHL games for Hamilton. The Bulldogs missed the AHL playoffs, finishing fifth in the North Division. 

2014-15: Dumont played three games for Montreal in February and was the third-leading scorer for Canadiens’ AHL affiliate Hamilton. He had no points nor penalties and was -1, averaging nine minutes of ice time with Montreal. Dumont scored 20 goals with 25 assists (both career-highs) and had an even plus/minus with 88 penalty minutes in 66 games for Hamilton. The Bulldogs finished third in the North Division, six points behind the Chicago Wolves for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Dumont was re-signed to a one-year contract by Montreal in June 2015.

Talent Analysis

Dumont is quick and possesses good hands, but he is undersized. Dumont plays a hard-nosed game, battling in corners using his body to separate players from the puck and engaging in contact when things get physical. He doesn't shy away from a good battle. His scoring at the AHL level has not translated to the NHL, and it likely never will. Dumont is a good top-six or top-nine center in St. John's, however his transition into the NHL has likely capped as a fourth-line guy, or as an extra forward. At best, he can expect a call-up if injuries begin to plague the team, as he fills a role on the bottom-six.

Future

Dumont is under contract for one more season and is likely to start in St. John's this year, with how crowded the Canadiens bottom-six has become. Should he fail to play 59 games this season, he will become an unrestricted free agent.