Gillies earned his tough reputation in the Canadian junior leagues, picking up 570 penalty minutes in 201 games with the Regina Pats. In 1974, Gillies and the Pats won the Memorial Cup. Later that year, the Islanders made him their first-round selection in the NHL draft, taking him fourth overall. Gillies was also selected by the World Hockey Association\'s Edmonton Oilers in the WHA draft, but Gillies signed with the Islanders, making the team right out of training camp. It was during his rookie season of 1974–75, in the playoffs, that Gillies established himself as one of the toughest players in the National Hockey League (NHL), pummeling Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz.\n', '

Gillies scored over 30 goals for four straight seasons as part of the "Trio Grande", the Islanders\' top forward line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier, and was named to the NHL\'s All-Star Team twice.\n', '

In the latter half of the 1976-77 NHL season, Gillies was named team captain; however, in spite of Gillies\' articulate speaking manner and amiable nature, he never felt completely comfortable as captain and it affected his play adversely in big games.[citation needed] Gillies captained the Islanders through two disappointing seasons, in part because the Islanders appeared to lack team toughness. During the pre-season of 1979–80 Gillies allowed Denis Potvin to take over as captain.\n', '

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