Antoine Roussel (born 21 November 1989) is a French 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 ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. He most recently played for the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

of 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). 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 The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

(QMJHL), he turned professional and played in 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

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 ...

, minor leagues in North America. Signed by the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

of the

(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 A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Early life

Roussel was born in

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He first played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

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. As a youth, he played in the 2002

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. At the age of 16, Roussel and his family moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, settling in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He also holds Canadian citizenship.

Playing career

Junior

After arriving in Canada in 2006, Roussel played midget hockey for the

Collège Charles-Lemoyne The Collège Charles-Lemoyne is a private high school with campuses in Longueuil and in Sainte-Catherine, near Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in ...

Riverains in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ac ...

. Later that season, Roussel joined the

Chicoutimi Saguenéens The Chicoutimi Saguenéens are a junior ice hockey team which plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team is based out of Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada (now a part of the city of Saguenay) and owned by the City of Saguenay. Th ...

of the QMJHL, where he played for four years.

Professional

Undrafted in the

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, 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 The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown R ...

of the

, where he played in five games. Roussel was not offered another contract by the Bruins, but was later invited to attend the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

' prospect camp. His performance there led to him signing a contract with the

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 ...

, which at the time were the Canucks' minor league affiliate in the AHL. He played for the Wolves for the 2011–12 season.

Dallas Stars

On 2 July 2012, Roussel signed a contract with the

. During the 2012–13 season, Roussel split his time between Dallas and their AHL affiliate, 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 ...

. 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. During the 2016–17 season on 18 February 2017, Roussel scored his first NHL hat trick against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. 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.

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

. 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 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 ...

. Roussel's injury was later revealed to be a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

or ACL. After undergoing surgery in late-March, Roussel's recovery carried over into the

2019–20 NHL season The 2019–20 NHL season was the 103rd season of operation (102nd season of play) of the National Hockey League. The regular season began on October 2, 2019, with playoffs originally planned for April and the Stanley Cup Finals planned for June. ...

. Expected to miss the first two months of the season, Roussel made his return to the lineup on 3 December in a 5–2 win over 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 ...

, scoring two goals, including one on his first shift since the injury.

Arizona Coyotes

On 23 July 2021, Roussel was traded, along with

Jay Beagle Jay Beagle (born October 16, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). As an undrafted free agent, Beagle joined the Washington Capitals's organization fo ...

Loui Eriksson Loui William Eriksson (born 17 July 1985) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Eriksson was selected by the Dallas Stars in the second round, 33rd overall, at th ...

, a

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

first-round pick, a

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

second-round pick and a

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

seventh-round pick, to the

in exchange for

Oliver Ekman-Larsson Oliver Oscar Emanuel Ekman-Larsson (; born 17 July 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known by his initials "OEL", Ekman-Larsson was original ...

and

Conor Garland Conor Garland (born March 11, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Garland was drafted in the fifth round (123rd overall) by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL ...

International play

Roussel was a member of the French national team at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 2014,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and 2017

IIHF World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

. 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Antoine 1989 births Living people Arizona Coyotes players Chicago Wolves players Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) players Dallas Stars players Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in Canada French expatriate sportspeople in the United States French ice hockey left wingers Providence Bruins players Reading Royals players Sportspeople from Roubaix Texas Stars players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks players