Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Dillon Fournier Announces Retirement

Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Dillon Fournier announced his retirement from Hockey. Scott Powers of the the Athletic was the first person to announce the story. Fournier is retiring due to a chronic shoulder injury. He is 22 years old.

Amateur Career

He played in Quebec Mens Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with Lewison Maineiacs in 2010-11

More from Blackhawks News

• Blackhawks vs Flames: Date, Time, Lineup, Betting Odds, More
• Three Takeaways from the Blackhawks’ Win vs Vancouver
• Blackhawks: Why Derek King is the Right Coach moving forward
• Marc-Andre Fleury Carries the Blackhawks to a 4-2 Win vs Seattle
• Instant Reaction: Blackhawks top Kraken for first time in history

before joining Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2012-13.

Fouriner was drafted by the Blackhawks in the second round, 48th pick,  of the 2012 NHL draft. Other notable draft picks in the 2012 draft were Teuvo Teravainen first round, 18th pick and Vinnie Hinostroza sixth round, 169th pick.

Fournier would stay in QMJHL from 2010-11 to 2013-14. He appeared in 207 games and recorded 108 totals points. He was a two-time QMJHL All-Star.

Pro Career

Fouriner split time between the AHL and ECHL in 2014. He played 21 games with the Rockford Ice hogs and 34 games with the Indy Fuel that season.

Despite only played in 55 pro games, Scouts were high still on Fouriner.

Hockey Future had this to say about Fournier: 

"Fournier is a puck-mover with great skating ability whose development has been slowed by injuries. Playing in pro hockey as a 20-year-old, he had the struggles with consistency not uncommon for a young player. He is still a work in progress, and continues to add the conditioning and strength he lacked after long periods of inactivity. With a deep group of defenseman in the Blackhawks’ organization he will have time to develop but his skill level suggests he can be a talented two-way defender."

During the 2014 season, Fournier suffered a major shoulder injury. He was 19 years old when the injury occurred. This would be the injury that would start Fournier down a path of injuries and surgery. Fournier would never full fill his promise after 2014.  He would only appear in 13 pro hockey games after the 2014 season. He appeared in 9 games in 2015-16 ( 7 ECHL, 2 AHL). Last season it was 4 games with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL.

Sad Story

With the draft upon, teams need a bit of luck to get players all the way to the NHL. From his draft class, only Teravainen and Hinostroza have played in NHL games. The majority of other draft picks are still fighting in the AHL/ECHL/ or NCAA.

For his career, Fournier never played an NHL game. He appeared in 68 Pro Hockey games between the AHL/ECHL. He was talented enough to become a top 50 pick of the Blackhawks in 2012, but injury prevented him from displaying it.