Francois' unorthodox diving style during Shockers' games was inherited from who is believed to be his biological father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Cousteau known for his discoveries under water was quite the active man between the sheets in his prime touring-the-world days. As it is not known how many children Cousteau may have blessed the world with, there are many similarities between himself and Hamelin including such points as standing positions, eye colors, passion for diving, his obsession for love-making and his liking for small tuques.While on a diving expedition at Roché Percé in Gaspé, Québéc, Cousteau won over the heart of a beautiful, feisty young lady who enjoyed the outdoors more than ever. Cousteau shared his stories of the world and she shared her adventures of Québéc, it was a match from heaven, until Cousteau had to move on with his career. He had to make a life decision to leave his summer love behind and a child that he did not know was on the way or to carry on with his career. He chose his career.
Francois's mother moved to Quebec City to live with her Grandmother as she was resented by her own parents for having a child without a father. While in Quebec City, she began to take interest in hockey and watched the Québéc Nordiques religiously, almost to a point of obsession. She collected hockey cards of her favorite players and tried to get autographs while players were going to practice. Francois was finally born and as a baby, his mother found that hockey was a new form of breast feeding for her child.
Her longing for bigger and better hockey lead her and her child onto a bus, enroute for Montreal. Unfortunately, she had not checked the bus number and ended up in Vaudreuil, Quebec. While in Vaudreuil, by day, she had been hired as a waitress at a local diner but by night she would headman one of the biggest youth outdoor hockey operations known to the area. This is where Francois would find his happy-medium between the game his mother got him to love and the diving that was implanted in his genes from his biological father; as a result, it developed his own brand of hockey.Francois grew up with the game but started to see hockey differently as an adolescent. The Boston Bruins had become his favorite team and this made times uneasy with his mother was a die-hard Montreal Canadiens fan. The hardships between the two led Francois to make a move to the big city of Montreal.
While in Montreal, Francois lost his kinship with hockey and vowed to leave the game as a part of the past. His parting from the game led him into a depression which then followed a few years of alcohol abuse.
He became friends with Alain Godard, captain of the Shockers, and Ben Ducharme, also with the Shockers. As concerned friends they decided to help Francois to get out of his depression. Hockey would be the solution.
The three began to organize outdoor pick-up games with the neighbourhood children. Hanging out with them made him also grow in love with the Montreal Canadiens and immediately started to follow the team religiously. Hamelin, Ducharme and Godard were inseparable when it came to hockey and the Canadiens. This would be the start of a new beginning.A couple of years later, Francois found himself in the midst of a revolution. The start of the Shockers. The birth of a new era. As a silent co-founder he found himself in similar shoes as his mother in Vaudreuil. The start of the team made him reconcile the differences with his mother and in return she guided him through the ways of starting and maintaining a hockey team. Francois' new found knowledge helped him be a large cornerstone of the team's operations and communication as well as being one of the hardest working defensemen of the NABHL.
You can see Francois diving and sliding around le Rinque next Sunday, December 21, 2008 @ 8:30pm against the Warriors.
Until then, enjoy this montage of Hamelin's best moves.
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