Over the last decade, two players were a constant presence in the Syracuse Crunch line-up. Daniel Walcott, who joined the team in the 2015-16 season, and Gabriel Dumont, who has been with the Crunch on three different stints since 2016. On Thursday, Dumont, the team captain, announced his retirement from hockey.
A career to remember. A legacy to last forever.
— Syracuse Crunch (@syracusecrunch.com) June 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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He hangs up the blue and white (and occasional orange) having skated in 290 games for the Crunch (6th all-time in the organization), while scoring 90 goals (5th in franchise history), and adding 120 assists (also 6th). The seven seasons he played for Syracuse is tied for second with Luke Witkowski, and only trails Walcott’s ten.
Dumont’s best season came in his third stint with the Crunch. After signing with the Minnesota Wild organization for two seasons in 2019, the former fifth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, returned to Syracuse in 2021-22 and put up 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists) while finishing the season with an even 100 penalty minutes. Dumont was the prototypical Crunch forward under head coach Ben Groulx. He could score, he could play defense, and he could agitate opponents all night long.
He was signed by the Lightning in the summer of 2016, following a strong campaign for the St. John’s IceCaps where he put up 19 goals. In the 2016-17 season he would play in a career-high 39 NHL games, all with the Lightning, where he recorded two goals and two assists. He added another five goals in 20 games for the Crunch that season. During the Crunch’s run to the Calder Cup Final, he put up 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in 22 games.
The 2017-18 season was an interesting one for Dumont. He played a handful for the Lightning early in the season, and was claimed on waivers by Ottawa when then GM Steve Yzerman tried to send him to Syracuse. That led to Mr. Yzerman immediately claiming Chris DiDomenico from the Senators and sending him to Syracuse on a conditioning stint. Ottawa eventually claimed DiDomenico off of waivers, but when the Lightning had a chance to get Dumont back in February, they did it.
During Groulx’s time as head coach, Dumont was part of a leadership group of players that served as a bridge between the coaching staff and younger players on the roster. He helped them adapt not only to professional hockey, but the way the Crunch and Lightning went about playing professional hockey. After his stint with the Wild organization, Dumont came back and was named the captain of the team.
Dumont was a career minor-leaguer in the best sense of the word. He was a prospect in the Canadiens organization. A tweener during his first stint with the Lightning, and then a depth organizational player after that. That didn’t blunt his passion or dedication to the game. Despite the long bus rides and back-to-back-to-back weekend series he played hard every night he was out there.
While the leadership skills were still there in the later years, playing a tough, hard-hitting style of hockey started to catch up with him. After that dynamic 2021-22 season, he appeared in 55 games the following season, 47 the year after that, and just 16 last season. He was still productive when he was on the ice, but staying on the ice was getting harder and harder.
He ends his career after 912 professional games, 16 seasons, two AHL all-star games, and the most playoff games played in Syracuse Crunch history with 41. He will one day (hopefully soon) be added to the Syracuse Crunch Hall of Fame, and his number “40” should hang from the rafters of the Upstate Medical University Arena.
Thank you for the highlights, the hard work, and the commitment to the Crunch.
