Andre Deveaux (born February 23, 1984) is a Bahamian-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who last played for the Hamilton Steelhawks in the

Allan Cup Hockey Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior "A" Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hock ...

League (ACH). He previously played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, as well as

HC Sparta Praha Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

(ELH). He was selected by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

. Deveaux was born in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of swa ...

, but he is a naturalized Canadian citizen who was raised in Welland, Ontario.

Playing career

Initially drafted by the

, 182nd overall in the

, Deveaux made his

(NHL) debut with the

on November 27, 2008, against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. In addition to playing with the Maple Leafs, Deveaux has been a member of the Toronto Marlies,

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

and

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) and the Johnstown Chiefs of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. Deveaux is the first person born in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

to play in the NHL. On February 12, 2010, after getting penalized for a melee in a game between the Marlies and the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

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. On August 24, 2010, Deveaux signed as a free agent to a one-year contract to return to the AHL's Chicago Wolves. On August 16, 2011, Deveaux signed as an unrestricted free agent with the

. 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

Tomáš Fleischmann Tomáš Fleischmann (born May 16, 1984) is a Czech former professional ice hockey winger. He most notably played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with several teams, including stints with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. Playi ...

in a game against the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

on November 23, 2011. Deveaux was eligible to return December 1, 2011, however instead Rangers president and general manager

Glen Sather Glen Cameron “Slats” Sather (born September 2, 1943) is a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. He is the current senior advisor and alternate governor of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the Rangers ...

announced Deveaux had been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL. On July 9, 2012, Deveaux signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Panthers. With the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

in effect, Deveaux was directly assigned to Florida's AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

. On March 19, 2013, during a game in

Cedar Park, Texas Cedar Park is a city and a major suburb of Austin in the state of Texas, approximately to the north-west of the center of Austin. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 77,595. History Before the arrival of European settl ...

, against the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the t ...

, Deveaux was accidentally high-sticked in the face. As he fell to the ice he slid underneath teammate

Nolan Yonkman Nolan Yonkman (born April 1, 1981) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) before concluding his career with JYP Jyväskylä, JYP of the Finland, Finnish Liiga. Career Yon ...

, 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 Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan game between

VIK Västerås HK Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran * Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway * ...

and Rögle BK, opposing defenceman Per Helmersson checked Deveaux into the boards, resulting in Deveaux losing consciousness. At the following game between the teams, Deveaux attacked Helmersson from behind during the warmups. On March 30, after video of the incident was posted on YouTube, Rögle BK terminated Deveaux's contract for next season. Swedish prosecutors subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Deveaux in response to the incident. 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. Deveaux took a hiatus and returned to the professional during the 2016–17 season in agreeing to a try-out with Czech club

of the

on January 26, 2017. 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. Over the final stretch of the season, he contributed with one goal and one assist in four games. On October 20, 2017, the Sheffield Steelers announced that they had signed Deveaux while announcing that his hiatus was due to injury. On November 28, 2017, Sheffield announced his release after posting four points in six games. He continued the season abroad, playing out the remainder of the year in Slovakia with HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga.

Personal

, Deveaux works as a firefighter with

Toronto Pearson Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

's Fire and Emergency Services.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championship (

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deveaux, Andre 1984 births Living people Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg players Belleville Bulls players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Wolves players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players HK Dukla Trenčín players Johnstown Chiefs players Montreal Canadiens draft picks New York Rangers players Owen Sound Attack players People from Freeport, Bahamas Ice hockey people from Welland Rögle BK players San Antonio Rampage players Sheffield Steelers players HC Sparta Praha players Springfield Falcons players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Bahamian sportspeople Canadian people of Bahamian descent