Alexandre Texier

Alexandre Texier (born 13 September 1999) is a French professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Texier played for the Brûleurs de Loups in the French Ligue Magnus, and was selected by the Blue Jackets in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the first player drafted out of France. He then spent two seasons with KalPa of Liiga, the top league in Finland, moving to North America and making his NHL debut in 2019. Internationally Texier has represented France at the junior and senior level.

Alexandre Texier
Born (1999-09-13) 13 September 1999
Grenoble, France
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Columbus Blue Jackets
Brûleurs de Loups
KalPa
National team  France
NHL Draft 45th overall, 2017
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

Texier grew up playing for Brûleurs de Loups in Grenoble, France, the same club his father Fabrice played for from 1989 until 1992. A rookie in the Ligue Magnus in 2016–17, he was awarded the Jean-Pierre Graff Trophy as the best first-year player.[1]

The National Hockey League (NHL) Central Scouting, which ranks players eligible for the annual Entry Draft, had Texier as the 16th best European skater prior to the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[2] He was ultimately selected in the second round, 45th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, becoming the first player drafted out of France.[3] After the draft Texier, who was also selected 17th in the CHL Import Draft by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, moved to KalPa of the Finnish Liiga for the 2017–18 season.[3] The team's youngest player, he scored 13 goals and 22 points in 53 games. On 23 May 2018, after the conclusion of the season, Texier was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Blue Jackets, who then let him spend a second season in Finland.[4]

After his second season with Kalpa, in which he led the team with 41 points in 55 games, Texier was assigned to the Blue Jackets' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. He played seven games for the Monsters, scoring seven points, before the Blue Jackets recalled him.[5] Texier made his NHL debut on 5 April 2019 against the New York Rangers.[6] He scored his first NHL goal the following night against the Ottawa Senators in the team's final regular season game.[7] He scored his first playoff goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game four of the Blue Jackets first-round playoff series on 16 April.[8]

During his first full season in the NHL, Texier suffered a lumbar stress fracture that limited him to playing in only 36 games played during the 2019-20 season.[9] Texier finished with 6 goals and 7 assists in the regular season.

International play

Texier has played internationally for France at the junior and senior level. At the 2017 U-18 World Championship he helped the French under-18 win the tournament, earning promotion to the elite division for the first time in their history.[10] Texier recorded five points in five games, and was named the tournament's top forward.[11][12]

He was expected to make his debut for the senior team at the 2017 World Championship, which was co-hosted in Paris and Cologne, Germany, but a shoulder-injury kept him out.[13] He played the following year for the national team at the 2018 World Championship, becoming the third-youngest player in the tournament.[14] He joined the French national team for the 2019 IIHF World Championship and got relegated to Division I A as France lost all of its 7 games.

Personal life

Texier's father, Fabrice, was also a hockey player, and introduced his son to the sport. Fabrice played four games in the 1986–87 season with the Laval Titan, spending the rest of his career in France, mainly with the Brûleurs de Loups.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2015–16 Brûleurs de Loups U22 11981714 674118
2016–17 Brûleurs de Loups FRA 401091969 12551012
2017–18 KalPa Liiga 531392238 611225
2018–19 KalPa Liiga 5514274136 —————
2018–19 Cleveland Monsters AHL 75274 10002
2018–19 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 21010 82132
2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 36671310
Liiga totals 10827366374 611225
NHL totals 38771410 82132

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2015 France WJC18-D1 520212
2016 France WJC18-D1 52466
2017 France WJC18-D1 52356
2017 France WJC-D1 51784
2018 France WJC-D1 50448
2018 France WC 703310
2019 France WC 71236
Junior totals 257182536
Senior totals 1415616

Awards and honours
Award Year
Ligue Magnus
Jean-Pierre Graff Trophy 2017

References
  1. "Lauréats Trophées Saxoprint Ligue Magnus 2016–2017" [Trophy Winners of the Saxoprint Ligue Magnus 2016–2017]. LigueMagnus.com. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. "2017 Draft Prospect Rankings — European Skaters". NHL.com. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. Hedger, Brian (29 June 2017). "Alexandre Texier aims to make impact on Blue Jackets". NHL.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. "Columbus Blue Jackets sign Alexandre Texier to three-year ELC". NHL.com. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  5. BlueJackets.com Staff (4 April 2019). "Blue Jackets recall Clendening, Texier from Monsters". NHL.com. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. Rosen, Dan (5 April 2019). "Blue Jackets clinch playoff berth, recover against Rangers". NHL.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  7. Fraser, Callum (6 April 2019). "Blue Jackets remain second wild card, top Senators". NHL.com. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  8. "2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs: No. 1 seed Lightning swept by Blue Jackets in historic first-round upset". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  9. "Columbus forward Alexandre Texier out indefinitely, placed on IR". NHL.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  10. Potts, Andy (18 April 2017). "Historic gold for France". IIHF.com. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  11. "2017 IIHF U18 World Championship Division IA — Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF.com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  12. "2017 IIHF U18 World Championship Division IA — Best Players Selected by the Directorate" (PDF). IIHF.com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  13. Aykroyd, Lucas (1 May 2017). "France's big chance". IIHF.com. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  14. Vickers, Aaron (10 May 2018). "Texier using World Championship as next step toward goal of reaching NHL". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  15. Chaumont, Jean=François (27 June 2017). "Un grand pas pour la France" [A Big Step for France]. Le Journal de Montréal. Montreal. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
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