Former Leafs and Sens prospect convicted in Quebec court today

Former NHL prospect and AHL journeyman Gabriel Gagne was convicted of sexual assault in a Quebec courthouse today.

The 28-year-old Gagne was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on July 23, 2016 at a party. Gagné, who was 19 at the time, asked his victim, who was then 20, to follow him to the basement of a residence where he sexually assaulted her.

“I was in shock,” the woman testified during the trial. “I had a hard time screaming, I was trying to tell him to stop.”

Gagné was previously sentenced to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty in May 2023 to charges of harassment and death threats with his then girlfriend identified as Daphne. He also reportedly pleaded guilty in 2022 in juvenile court to two counts of sexual assault he committed in 2014 while he played for Victoriaville.

The 27 year old was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 2nd round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and spent significant time with the Sens' AHL affiliate Belleville Senators, before moving on to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies and the Chicago Blackhawks' AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs.

His ex-girlfriend, identified only as Daphne in court records, alleges that Gagne was a violent and controlling partner who was often under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

“I was in survival mode,” Daphné summed up in her testimony according to La Presse.

Some particularly terrifying excerpts from Daphne's testimony courtesy of La Presse (Translated from French):

A first episode was the “trigger point”. During a party , Daphné saw him writing to another girl. She wanted to leave. “He followed me, calling me names. He threw a trash can at me. But his friend put his foot down so I wouldn’t get it. I was stunned. His friend said: ‘He’s stressed, he’s had his season, he’s unwinding,’” says Daphné.

After the party , Gabriel Gagné takes the wheel. He insists that she get in the car with him. On the way, she demands to get out of the vehicle. "I was scared. He was super aggressive," she testifies. That's when he accelerates to 240 km/h and threatens to kill them.

"I was terrified," she sighs.

Another time, Gabriel Gagné grabbed her by the throat and showed her his fist. The accused shouted at her: "At some point, you're going to get a big kick out of it!" For her safety, she lets him attack her, she says.

During yet another crisis, Gabriel Gagné grabs a 40-pound dumbbell and brandishes it over Daphné. At the last second, someone close to Daphné intervenes and orders him to leave. It's the beginning of the end. But a few days later, their relationship ends with a particularly trying sexual assault.

"At that moment, I was crying, crying, crying. Big tears. He just penetrated me. My tears were flowing. In my head, it was empty," she told the court.

But Gabriel Gagné doesn't let go of Daphné. He calls her constantly. He creates fake accounts on social networks to contact her. For months, the woman is terrified. He even writes to her: "I'm going to burn your house down. You'll see the consequences. I paid someone to kill you. I'm not afraid of the police."

It was too much. Daphne filed a complaint with the police. "I was at the end of my rope," she sighs.

Gagne was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison in 2023 for harassing another ex-girlfriend. He then pleaded guilty in January 2024 of luring a teenage girl under the age of 16. He served just three months in prison for that offence. Hopefully his sentence is much stiffer if he is convicted of his crimes this time around.