University of Vermont Athletics

Martin St. Louis 1997 - Hockey

A three-time first team All-American and a three-time finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as national men's hockey player of the year, Martin St. Louis, a 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, concluded his UVM career as the school's all-time leader in points and was the 1997 recipient of the J. Edward Donnelly Award as UVM's top male senior athlete.

Since graduating from UVM, St. Louis has developed into one of the best players in the world as a perennial NHL All-Star, the league's MVP in 2003-04, and as a World Champion and an Olympian.

St. Louis, along with classmates and fellow inductees Tim Thomas '97 and Eric Perrin '97, led the Catamounts to back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament and the school's only appearance in the Frozen Four. Along with Perrin and Thomas, he was named to the ECAC All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was selected to UVM's All-Time Team, 'The ECAC Years' in 2006.

An electrifying skater, he finished with a school-record 267 career points, second all-time in ECAC history. He is UVM's leader in assists, 176, and is third in goals with 91. He and Perrin, known as the 'French Connection' at Vermont, combined for 523 career points at Vermont.

As a freshman he was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team as he tallied a UVM rookie-record 36 assists along with 15 goals. He led the Catamounts in points, 51, and led ECAC freshmen in points with 31 in 22 league games.

In 1994-95 he again led the Cats in scoring with 71 points on 23 goals and a school-record 48 assists. He tied for the league scoring lead with Perrin with 44 points (15-29) in 22 contests. The 1994-95 ECAC Player of the Year and a first team All-ECAC selection, he also was named a first team All-American and was a Hobey Baker finalist.

His junior year was the best in Vermont hockey history as St. Louis, the team captain, helped lead the Catamounts to the ECAC Regular Season Championship, a bye into the second round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament and UVM's first trip to the Frozen Four. He tallied 85 points on 29 goals and 56 assists in 38 games equaling Perrin in each category as the pair set UVM single-season records for points and assists. He repeated as a first-team All-American, a Hobey Baker finalist and on the All-ECAC and All-New England first teams. Always delivering in the clutch, he was named to the ECAC All-Championship Team, the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team and the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. He scored both goals in UVM's 2-1 win over Lake Superior State, including the dramatic game-winner with a minute left, that advanced the Catamounts to the Frozen Four in Cincinnati. He had a goal and an assist in the 4-3 double-overtime loss to Colorado College in the national semifinals.

He capped his Catamount career in 1996-97 leading UVM to another NCAA appearance and he was named an All-American, All-ECAC and All-New England, and was again a Hobey Baker finalist for the third straight season.

Upon graduation from UVM, St. Louis was undrafted by the NHL and began his pro career with Cleveland of the International League. He was signed by the Calgary organization and played with Saint John of the AHL before reaching the NHL with the Flames in 1998-99.
Released by Calgary after the 1999-2000 season, he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 31, 2000. In his third season with the Lightning, St. Louis became a NHL All-Star for the first time in 2002-03.

St. Louis had one of the top seasons in NHL history in 2003-04 leading Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup. He led the NHL in scoring and earned the Hart Trophy and the Pearson Award as the league's Most Valuable Player. In the fall of 2004 he led Canada to the World Cup of Hockey title and in 2006, he skated for his native country in the Torino Winter Olympics. In 2006-07, he played in all 82 regular season games for Tampa Bay and recorded career-highs with 102 points, 43 goals and 59 assists.