Dan Gibb chose the right subject as his major field of study at the University of Calgary.
During his five years attending classes on a WHL scholarship until he graduated in 2018, the former Prince George Cougar defenceman focused on international relations.
Some of what he learned in the classroom has come in handy now that’s he’s a professional hockey player based in France. Gibb is just about to begin his third season playing for the Amiens Gothiques of Ligue Magnus and this will be his fourth year in France’s top professional hockey league.
“I took Spanish when I was there (in Calgary) but I probably know more French than Spanish now,” said Gibb, who still makes his off-season home in Prince George, where his family lives.
“You pick it up. I took some online courses, and reading and listening is easier for me now, but speaking is hard. It’s hard to be funny in a second language. I’m way too literal.”
The Gothiques didn’t hire Gibb for his French fluency. They want him there for his workmanlike habits and shot-blocking tendencies on the ice and his leadership qualities in the dressing room.
Known for his stay-at-home defensive abilities and tough physical play patrolling the Cougar blueline, Gibb became a fan favourite at CN Centre and was an assistant captain for his final two WHL seasons. In 266 WHL games from 2009-13, Gibb scored nine goals and had 25 assists for 33 points. He played three games of minor pro in the ECHL for the Stockton Thunder, then went to the University of Calgary for a five-seasons from 2013-18, ending his university career as the Dinos’ captain.
He went to France that year he graduated and played one season for the Gap Rapaces of the Ligue Magnus before moving to Amiens in 2019. The 12 Ligue Magnus teams each play a 44-game schedule that runs from late-September to early-April, leading to the Magnus Cup playoffs.
The league shut down in March 2020 and playoffs were cancelled after one round die to the pandemic. The Gothiques played just 22 games in 2020-21 while COVID case counts continued to rise in France. In October, the league shut down for a month without practices or games, then each team played just one game per week until the season ended April 3. Curfews limited the time he was able to spend sampling French culture and aside from trips to buy groceries he rarely strayed beyond his apartment or the rink.
Now 29, Gibb was born in Cranbrook but moved to Prince George at a young age, where he became a provincial-level athlete in hockey, volleyball, soccer, baseball and lacrosse. As a bantam hockey player he was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the eighth round, 170th overall, in the 2007 WHL draft but never played for the T-birds. After a year of major midget with the Cariboo Cougars he was listed by the Cougars in March 2009 and began his four-season WHL career that fall.
Gibb said the French league is not as physically demanding as North American hockey, with less emphasis on bodychecking.
“It’s not as physical, so a little easier on the body, and it’s a different lifestyle,” he said. “It’s a little more laissez-faire, you kind of get to go with the flow - you go the grocery store every day and have your coffee. We play fewer games, only 44, and they love having days off, too. We get a couple travel breaks throughout the year and we get to travel Europe for five days, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve been to Spain, Italy, Germany and Vienna.”
Two of Gibb’s former Cougar teammates are playing in Europe. Troy Bourke is in Germany, Cody Carlson is in Romania. One of Gibb’s teammates on the Gothiques is 27-year-old Kitimat-born defenceman Skylar Pacheco, who played three seasons in the BCHL with the Prince George Spruce Kings before moving on to Brock University.
Gibb spent the off-season working out in the weight room at the Northern Sport Centre and working in the pro shop at Prince George Golf and Curling Club, which allowed him the occasional luxury of golfing for free. He played for the third year in the Cougars’ annual Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation Charity golf tournament in early July.
“I haven’t played as much as would have liked, I played more last year when I was a member,” he said. “I can go high or I can go medium low. My drives are alright when it goes straight but sometimes they’ve got the old slice going.”
