Carlsberg Alumni Spotlight – Philippe Halley
For almost a decade now, Philippe Halley has been living a unique experience over in France.
The Quebec City native says he’s happy on the Old Continent and has no regrets at all about his decision to quickly turn his back on North American professional hockey.
In 2013, after participating in the Arizona Coyotes’ rookie camp, the former Victoriaville Tigres and Gatineau Olympiques forward had initially opted to play in the Canadian University circuit.
It was a face now well known to QMJHL fans who convinced him to join the University of New Brunswick Reds, who are based in Fredericton.
“I’ve always attached great importance to learning English,” Halley recalls. “So, when [former Reds coach, now with the Moncton Wildcats] Gardiner MacDougall showed interest in recruiting me, I knew it would be his university I’d choose, knowing also that it was probably one of the best hockey programs in Canada!”
Shortly after his debut with the Reds, however, Halley was approached by a professional team, and he couldn’t see himself turning down the opportunity. That’s how he ended up in the ECHL, with the Gwinnett Gladiators, for a portion of the 2013-2014 season.
But after fifteen games or so with the team based in Georgia, in the southern part of the United States, the centerman decided to return to university.
“I enjoyed my time in the pros for the short time I was there. You play a lot of games in a short span, but it was my studies that motivated my decision to leave.”
In addition to going back to school, the former Tigres captain would spend the next three campaigns wearing the Reds jersey, with whom he won two U Sports championships.
At the end of this memorable adventure, in 2017, it was then that he decided to set his sights on Europe.
“Since I’d already had a bit of pro experience in North America, I wanted to try something new after university, and it was Europe that I chose,” explains the man who finished his QMJHL career with 216 points in 229 games.
“I chose France because it was the first offer I received after university, and I couldn’t wait to start my European adventure,” admits Halley. “What’s more, Mario Richer was the coach of the Amiens Gothiques. He had seen me play in the Canadian University Championship and immediately showed an interest in me.”
This first season on European soil was a great success, with 42 points in 43 games for the forward.
“My transition went really well! I’m very adaptable, which made things a lot easier. The European lifestyle is quite pleasant too,” admits the now 32-year-old. “On the ice, it was also easy to adapt. I have to admit that we had several Quebecers and Canadians on the team, so I wasn’t too lost out there.”
After three seasons with Amiens, Halley moved to the Angers Ducs in 2020, a team he still plays for today. Now that he’s established himself in the Ligue Magnus, you only have to spend a few moments with the Quebecer to understand that he really likes the European-style game.
“The caliber of play is similar to the ECHL, but the style of play is rather different in the sense that it’s less physical, mainly due to the fact that the ice surface is bigger. There’s just more space out there, which reduces contact,” he notes.
Although he admits he doesn’t know how much time he has left in his playing career, he intends to make the most of it, for as long as possible.
“I’m still passionate about hockey, so I’d like to play for a few more years. But you never know what the future might bring!”
A sign that he still dreams of playing for several more seasons, Halley hasn’t really thought about his post-career for now.
“I’m still pretty undecided,” he laughs. “Staying in hockey is certainly something that interests me. The only thing I know is that I want a job that’s going to require me to move around a lot and stay active, since that’s what I’ve been doing all my life!”
