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By: Andrew Lindroth | Follow me on Twitter @andrewlindrothh

Happy 53rd Birthday To Former Boston Bruins Defenceman Alain Cote!

Alain Cote was born on April 14th, 1967, in Montmagny, Quebec, Canada. He began playing juniors in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as a 16-year-old defenceman for the Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) from 1983-1985. After scoring 54 points and racking up 213 PIM in 128 games played, the Boston Bruins selected him in the second round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Cote returned to the QMJHL and played 22 games for the Granby Bisons (QMJHL) before getting promoted to the American Hockey League.

Cote played just three games with the Moncton Golden Flames (AHL) before being called up for his first National Hockey League action with the Boston Bruins in 1985. The 6’0, 207-pound defenceman suited up for the Boston Bruins the remainder of that season, playing in 32 games and collecting six assists with a +6 rating. From 1985-1989, he went on to split his time with the Boston Bruins, Granby Bisons (QMJHL), and the Maine Mariners (AHL), appearing in a total of 68 games with the Bruins and recording 2-9-11 numbers. In September of 1989, Cote was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Bobby Gould.

Cote suited up with the Capitals for just two games before being reassigned to the Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL), playing in 57 games, and recording 24 points. During the 1990 off-season, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Marc Deschamps. The defenceman played with Montreal from 1990-1992 as a utility player, appearing in 41 games and collecting nine assists with a +15 rating, while spending the majority of his time with the Fredericton Canadiens (AHL) from 1990-1993. Before the end of the 1992-1993 season, Montreal traded Cote to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Eric Charron and future considerations (Donald Dufresne) in exchange for Rob Ramage.

Cote would only see ice-time with Tampa Bay for two games that season before being signed to the Quebec Nordiques as a free agent in July of 1993. The defenceman suited up for what would be his final six games in the NHL before spending the remainder of the 1993-1994 season in the International Hockey League (IHL) and the AHL. Cote went on to retire from the NHL in 1994 and continued to play in multiple leagues all over the world (Slovenia, Japan, Germany, EuroHL, Finland, IHL, QSPHL, QNAHL, QCSHL) from 1994-2008. In 2008, Cote officially retired from the hockey world.

Throughout his nine-year career in the NHL, the defenceman played for five different teams, suiting up for 119 games and recording 2-18-20 numbers with a +5 rating. Happy birthday, Alain Cote!