Antoine Roussel

Antoine Roussel (born 21 November 1989) is a French professional ice hockey left winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] Born in France, Roussel first played hockey there before moving to Quebec at the age of 16. After four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he turned professional and played in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL, minor leagues in North America. Signed by the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2012, he made his NHL debut in 2013 for the club. Regarded as a physical player, Roussel has consistently been one of the NHL's leaders in penalty minutes since he entered the league. He has scored 10 or more goals and earned 100 PIM in the same season six times in his career. Internationally Roussel has represented the French national team both at the junior and senior level, including multiple World Championships.

Antoine Roussel
Roussel with the Dallas Stars in 2014
Born (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989
Roubaix, France
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Free Agent
Dallas Stars
Vancouver Canucks
Arizona Coyotes
National team  France
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2010–present

Early life

Roussel was born in Roubaix, France. He first played rugby as a child, but was released from his team after repeatedly running off the field during the heated summer practices. As a result, his mother Sarah enrolled him in hockey, deciding the cooler rink would benefit Roussel.[2] As a youth, he played in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Nantes.[3] At the age of 16, Roussel and his family moved to Canada, settling in Quebec. He also holds Canadian citizenship.[4]

Playing career

Junior

After arriving in Canada in 2006, Roussel played midget hockey for the Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains in Longueuil. Later that season, Roussel joined the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL, where he played for four years.[5]

Professional

Undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft, Roussel signed an AHL contract on 9 August 2010 with the Providence Bruins, where he played the 2010–11 season. After being a healthy scratch for several Providence games, he was temporarily reassigned to the Reading Royals of the ECHL, where he played in five games.[6]

Roussel was not offered another contract by the Bruins, but was later invited to attend the Vancouver Canucks' prospect camp.[7] His performance there led to him signing a contract with the Chicago Wolves, which at the time were the Canucks' minor league affiliate in the AHL.[8] He played for the Wolves for the 2011–12 season.

Dallas Stars

On 2 July 2012, Roussel signed a contract with the Dallas Stars.[9] During the 2012–13 season, Roussel split his time between Dallas and their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. For the 2013–14 season, Roussel played with the Dallas Stars for the entire season, playing 81 games. On 22 July 2014, the Stars announced that Roussel had signed a four-year, $8 million contract extension with the team.[10]

During the 2016–17 season on 18 February 2017, Roussel scored his first NHL hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was the second ever French-born NHL player to do so, joining Paul MacLean. A hand injury would end his season in early March.[11]

Roussel with the French national team in 2017

Vancouver Canucks

After six seasons with the Stars, Roussel left as a free agent and on 1 July 2018, he signed a four-year, $12 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[12] Roussel set a career-high in points in 2018–19 with the Canucks, with 31, before suffering a season-ending knee injury on 13 March 2019, during a game against the New York Rangers.[13] Roussel's injury was later revealed to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. After undergoing surgery in late-March, Roussel's recovery carried over into the 2019–20 NHL season. Expected to miss the first two months of the season,[14] Roussel made his return to the lineup on 3 December in a 5–2 win over the Ottawa Senators, scoring two goals, including one on his first shift since the injury.[15]

Arizona Coyotes

On 23 July 2021, Roussel was traded, along with Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick, to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.[16][17][18]

International play

Roussel was a member of the French national team at the 2012,[19] 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 IIHF World Championships. At the end of the 2014 tournament, he was selected as a Media All-Star after a very successful tournament, scoring 11 points in eight games.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Rouen FRA U18 8 4 5 9 4 2 2 2 4 0
2006–07 Collège Charles-Lemoy Riverains QMAAA 12 4 10 14 18 — — — — —
2006–07 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 56 7 13 20 55 4 0 0 0 14
2007–08 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 70 13 24 37 121 5 0 4 4 29
2008–09 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 58 15 20 35 110 4 0 2 2 15
2009–10 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 68 24 23 47 131 7 4 5 9 10
2010–11 Providence Bruins AHL 42 1 7 8 88 — — — — —
2010–11 Reading Royals ECHL 5 0 1 1 7 8 0 3 3 14
2011–12 Chicago Wolves AHL 61 4 5 9 177 2 0 0 0 6
2012–13 Texas Stars AHL 43 8 11 19 107 — — — — —
2012–13 Dallas Stars NHL 39 7 7 14 85 — — — — —
2013–14 Dallas Stars NHL 81 14 15 29 209 6 0 3 3 27
2014–15 Dallas Stars NHL 80 13 12 25 148 — — — — —
2015–16 Dallas Stars NHL 80 13 16 29 123 13 2 0 2 16
2016–17 Dallas Stars NHL 60 12 15 27 115 — — — — —
2017–18 Dallas Stars NHL 73 5 12 17 126 — — — — —
2018–19 Vancouver Canucks NHL 65 9 22 31 118 — — — — —
2019–20 Vancouver Canucks NHL 41 7 6 13 43 17 2 2 4 46
2019–20 Utica Comets AHL 2 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2020–21 Vancouver Canucks NHL 35 1 3 4 37 — — — — —
2021–22 Arizona Coyotes NHL 53 4 4 8 59 — — — — —
NHL totals 607 85 112 197 1,063 36 4 5 9 89

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 France U18 D1 18th 5 0 1 1 8
2009 France WJC D1 15th 5 6 2 8 2
2012 France WC 9th 7 2 1 3 6
2013 France WC 13th 7 2 1 3 10
2014 France WC 8th 8 6 5 11 16
2015 France WC 12th 7 0 2 2 34
2017 France WC 9th 7 6 2 8 18
Junior totals 10 6 3 9 10
Senior totals 36 16 11 27 84

Awards and honors
Award Year Ref
International
WC All-Star Team 2014

References
  1. "Stars sign Petersen, Roussel". theahl.com. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  2. Brown, Erin (5 November 2015). "Roussel eyes international stage". IIHF.com. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  3. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. MacIntyre, Iain (20 June 2020). "Why Antoine Roussel might be Canucks' most 'Canadian' player". sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  5. "Antoine Roussel". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. "Roussel Assigned to Reading". ProvidenceBruins.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  7. Mooney, Harrison (3 October 2011). "Antoine Roussel gets his contract". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  8. "Climie and Roussel Sent to Wolves". ChicagoWolves.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  9. "Antoine Roussel agrees to four-year deal with Dallas Stars". Associated Press. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  10. "Roussel, Stars agree to four-year contract". NHL.com. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  11. "Antoine Roussel of Stars to miss rest of season". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  12. "Canucks sign Antoine Roussel". Vancouver Canucks. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  13. "Canucks' Roussel (knee) out for season". TSN. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  14. Johnston, Patrick (17 April 2019). "Patrick Johnston: Ever-upbeat Roussel faces long summer of recovery, with numbers on his mind". The Province. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  15. "Roussel scores in season debut for Canucks in win against Senators". NHL.com. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. "Report: Ekman-Larsson, No. 9 Pick Involved in Blockbuster Canucks, Coyotes Trade". TSN.ca. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  17. "Canucks acquire Ekman-Larsson, Garland from Coyotes in blockbuster deal". Sportsnet. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  18. "Arizona Coyotes trade Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Vancouver Canucks as part of multiplayer, multipick swap". EPSN. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  19. "2012 IIHF World Championships France Roster". IIHF.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  20. "2014 IIHF World Championships Media All-Stars" (PDF). IIHF.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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