The Gap Rapaces have come a long way to become one of France's top hockey clubs and a regular competitor in the Champions Hockey League.

by Jody Obninsky

As with many cities in the Alps, hockey in Gap was born a long time ago, during the winter of 1937–38. We can say that Gap is an honourific member of France's “original six” hockey teams along with with clubs like Chamonix, Paris, Villard de lans and Briançon. From the beginning until now, the town and hockey have had a true love story with real magic memories and other moments that have been more difficult.

In the two first decades, the ice rink was natural and the staff had to be very passionate to allow Gap fans to have hockey (and skating) in town, but this devotion created the soul of a club based on team spirit, fun and passion.

Gap got an artificial ice rink in 1962, and that was the first huge step in club history to be able to skate six or seven months per year. With help from Canadian player-coach Camil Gélinas (a member of the French Hockey Hall of Fame) and visionary president Jean Ferrand (also a member of the French Hall of Fame and former president of the French Ice Hockey Association), the first honours came fast: in 1965 Gap were the French champions in the U20 and U15 categories.

Eventually, the club won its first two titles at the men's level in 1976–77 and 1977–78 under Czech coach Zdeňek Bláha (also a member of the French Hall of Fame ). These titles earned Gap places in the European Cup, where they fell to Köln (1977) and Bolzano (1978). 

The 1980s were a fantastic period for the fans, with Gap in contention every season for the Magnus Cup with great players on the ice like Christian Pouget, Roland Cloutier and Larry Huras, but the club went bankrupt in 1987 and had to start from the 1st division at the beginning of the ’90s. 

Over the 20 next seasons, Les Rapaces went  back and forth between the top two levels of French hockey. In those years, Gap were twice champions of the French 1st division, in 1995–96 and 2008–09. The team returned to the Ligue Magnus to stay in 2009–10. After a third-place finish in that season, 2010–11 was difficult, as the team was forced to play all of its home games in Marseille – 250 km from Gap – due to major renovations to the old arena.

The newly-rebuilt arena re-opened in 2012, which gave the team a huge opportunity to return to the upper echelon of the league. Alp’Arena now has 2200 seats and can hold 2800 fans with standing room, VIP boxes, a hospitality bar and large video screen. After two years between 8th and 11th places, the club signed Luciano Basile as head coach in 2014. After 12 years in Briançon and the French championship title in 2014, Basile (nicknamed “the Italian Wizard”) left the Red Devils to coach their greatest rivals, the Gap Rapaces. The club was very successful in his first season behind the bench, finishing third in the regular season, reaching the semi-finals in both the League Cup and the French Cup, before winning their third national championship – and first in 37 years – with a seven-game victory over Epinal in the league finals.

After an interesting first experience in the CHL in 2015–16 against ZSC Lions Zurich and Eisbaren Berlin, which included a historic win against Berlin on home ice, the rest of season was pretty good for Basile's squad. They finished first in the regular season for the first time, then won the last League Cup in history, before falling in the league semi-finals to the Rouen Dragons – the eventual champions – after a heartbreaking Game 6 where Gap led 5–0 after 30 minutes, but lost 7–6 in overtime.

After the 2015–16 season, no fewer than 18 players left the team and only four players from the championship squad of 2014–15 are still there. As the French league decided to move into a real professional league with a 44-game regular season, Gap has changed the structure of the team and will be one of the youngest team in French league. Twelve North American players, most of whom making their European debuts, have come aboard, so the team that will take part in the CHL Group K with JYP Jyväskylä and Linköping HC in 2016–17 will have a new look. Gap will be still driven on the ice by Marc-André Bernier, Maurin Bouvet (2015–16 rookie of the year), and Clement Fouquerel in the net. 

Team facts

CHL seasons

2015–16: 3rd in Group P

Click here for current information about the club.