André Deveaux

Andre Deveaux (born February 23, 1984) is a retired Bahamian-born Canadian professional ice hockey player who last played for the Hamilton Steelhawks in the Allan Cup Hockey League (ACH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers, as well as HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Deveaux was born in Freeport, Bahamas, but he is a naturalized Canadian citizen who was raised in Welland, Ontario.

André Deveaux
Deveaux playing for the New York Rangers in 2011
Born	(1984-02-23) February 23, 1984 Freeport, Bahamas
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Rögle BK HC Sparta Praha Sheffield Steelers HK Dukla Trenčín
NHL Draft	182nd overall, 2002 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	2004–2018

Playing career

Initially drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, 182nd overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Deveaux made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 27, 2008, against the Ottawa Senators. In addition to playing with the Maple Leafs, Deveaux has been a member of the Toronto Marlies, Chicago Wolves and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. Deveaux is the first person born in the Bahamas to play in the NHL.[1]

On February 12, 2010, after getting penalized for a melee in a game between the Marlies and the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg involving almost all the players on the ice, Deveaux was alleged to have been taunted with racial slurs by a fan while in the penalty box. Deveaux subsequently threw a roll of hockey tape in the heckler's direction and was suspended for three games by the AHL.[2]

On August 24, 2010, Deveaux signed as a free agent to a one-year contract to return to the AHL's Chicago Wolves.[3]

On August 16, 2011, Deveaux signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Rangers.[4]

On November 25, 2011, while playing for the Rangers, Deveaux was suspended by the NHL for three games, for delivering an illegal check to the head of forward Tomas Fleischmann in a game against the Florida Panthers on November 23, 2011.[5] Deveaux was eligible to return December 1, 2011, however instead Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather announced Deveaux had been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL.[6]

On July 9, 2012, Deveaux signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Panthers.[7] With the NHL lockout in affect, Deveaux was directly assigned to Florida's AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. On March 19, 2013, during a game in Cedar Park, Texas, against the Texas Stars, Deveaux was accidentally high-sticked in the face. As he fell to the ice he slid underneath teammate Nolan Yonkman, knocking him over. As Yonkman tried not to fall he accidentally stepped on Deveaux's face, with full force. The resulting cut required dozens of stitches to close.

On March 26, 2015 during a game between VIK Västerås HK and Rögle BK, Per Helmersson checked Deveaux into the boards, resulting in Deveaux losing consciousness.[8] At the following game, Deveaux attacked VIK Västerås HK defenseman Per Helmersson from behind during the warmups for a game between VIK Västerås and Rögle BK in Swedish league HockeyAllsvenskan.[9] On March 30, after video of the incident was posted on YouTube, Rögle terminated Deveaux's contract for next season.[10] Swedish prosecutors subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Deveaux in response to the incident.[11] On May 8, Deveaux and his wife held a press conference in Toronto, outlining his side of the incident and describing the lingering effects of the Helmersson hit.[12]

Deveaux took a hiatus and returned to the professional during the 2016-17 season in agreeing to a try-out with Czech club, HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga on January 26, 2017.[13] Keen to prove a point with his play rather than his past, Deveaux secured a contract for the remainder of the season on February 3, 2017.[14] Over the final stretch of the season, he contributed with a goal and assist in 4 games.

On October 20, 2017, the Sheffield Steelers announced that they had signed Deveaux whilst announcing that his hiatus was due to injury.[15] On the November 28, 2017, Sheffield announced his release after posting 4 points in 6 games.[16] He continued the season abroad, playing out the remainder of the year in Slovakia with HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga.

Personal

He currently works as a firefighter with Toronto Pearson Airport's Fire and Emergency Services.[17]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Belleville Bulls	OHL		58	3	6	9	65		10	3	6	9	6
2001–02	Belleville Bulls	OHL		64	8	13	21	89		11	1	2	3	30
2002–03	Belleville Bulls	OHL		34	6	12	18	93		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Owen Sound Attack	OHL		29	9	10	19	33		4	2	2	4	6
2003–04	Owen Sound Attack	OHL		64	16	30	46	151		7	3	3	6	21
2004–05	Springfield Falcons	AHL		73	4	8	12	210		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Springfield Falcons	AHL		59	6	5	11	135		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Johnstown Chiefs	ECHL		11	4	7	11	36		5	1	1	2	2
2006–07	Springfield Falcons	AHL		8	1	2	3	8		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Johnstown Chiefs	ECHL		21	6	8	14	51		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Chicago Wolves	AHL		28	4	4	8	105		14	3	2	5	48
2007–08	Chicago Wolves	AHL		66	7	11	18	232		24	0	2	2	67
2008–09	Toronto Marlies	AHL		38	14	11	25	114		6	0	3	3	14
2008–09	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		21	0	1	1	75		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Toronto Marlies	AHL		72	16	25	41	216		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Chicago Wolves	AHL		73	23	23	46	194		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Connecticut Whale	AHL		59	20	20	40	157		8	2	2	4	47
2011–12	New York Rangers	NHL		9	0	1	1	29		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		46	7	7	14	56		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg	KHL		20	3	4	7	25		3	1	0	1	6
2014–15	Rögle BK	Allsv		20	6	3	9	67		5	0	2	2	6
2016–17	HC Sparta Praha	ELH		4	1	1	2	0		1	0	1	1	0
2017–18	Sheffield Steelers	EIHL		6	2	2	4	48		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	HK Dukla Trenčín	Slovak		18	1	0	1	78		16	0	2	2	56
2018–19	Hamilton Steelhawks	ACH		21	9	14	23	16		4	1	0	1	7
NHL totals				31	0	2	2	104		—	—	—	—	—

References

1. Koshan, Terry (2008). "Road to redemption". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
2. Girard, Daniel (February 16, 2010). "Marlies' Deveaux calls suspension "fair"". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
3. Chicago Wolves (2010-08-24). "Wolves bring back 2008 Calder Cup Champ Deveaux". oursportscentral.com. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
4. "Andre Deveaux New York Rangers - 2011-2012 Stats - New York Rangers - All Time Roster". Archived from the original on 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
5. Deveaux suspended for three games - New York Rangers - News
6. "Deveaux assigned to Connecticut". New York Rangers. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
7. "Panthers agree to terms with C Andre Deveaux". Florida Panthers. 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
8. "Andre Deveaux's Contract Terminated in Sweden After Slashing Incident". CBS. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
9. "Gotta See It: Ex-Leafs enforcer's vicious slash". Sportsnet. 2015-03-29. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
10. "Swedish team terminates contract of Andre Deveaux after vicious pre-game slash". Yahoo Sports. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
11. "Arrest warrant issued for Deveaux". TSN. March 31, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
12. "Deveaux claims self-defence for attack". TSN. 2015-05-08.
13. "Energy boost headed to Sparta with Deveaux try-out" (in Czech). hokej.cz. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
14. "Deveaux remains in Sparta". HC Sparta Praha. 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
15. "Welcome to Sheffield: Andre Deveaux".
16. "Breaking News: Steelers Release Andre Deveaux".
17. "A former NHLer's mission to help the Bahamas heal after Hurricane Dorian".

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database