Donald Daniel Audette (born September 23, 1969) is a

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 h ...

forward who played fourteen seasons 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) for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, Atlanta Thrashers,

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 in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

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 ...

and Florida Panthers.

Playing career

He was drafted in the 9th round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 183rd overall by the

. Despite his small stature, Audette became known for his gritty, feisty style of play and quickly endeared himself to Buffalo hockey fans with a 31-goal rookie season. However, his rough and tumble style of play led to lengthy trips to the injury reserve, including several knee injuries that ended his 1992–93 and 1995–96 seasons. In 1998 Audette was traded to the

. Two years later, as a member of the Atlanta Thrashers, he reached his career high in goals (34) and assists (45) and made it to the

NHL 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 ...

All-Star game. Audette was traded back to the Buffalo Sabres in March 2001, and signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the

later that summer. In the middle of the 2001–02 season, Audette was traded again, this time to the

. In 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 ...

on December 1, 2001, Audette had the tendons of his forearm severed by an opponent's skate and required life-saving surgery to repair the extensive damage, but still managed to recover in time for the playoffs. After struggling to make a mark with the Florida Panthers for half of the 2003–04 season, Audette stopped playing professionally. Prior to playing in the NHL, Audette won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), while playing for the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

. Audette is now an amateur scout for the Canadiens.

Personal life

Donald Audette's son Daniel Audette (born in 1996) was the first pick of the 2012

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 ...

draft and was drafted by the

in the

2014 NHL Entry Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl, going to the F ...

. Currently Audette is an amateur scout with the

.Montreal Canadiens Hockey Operations
/ref>

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Audette, Donald 1969 births Atlanta Thrashers players Buffalo Sabres captains Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Dallas Stars players Florida Panthers players French Quebecers Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Quebec Laval Titan players Living people Los Angeles Kings players Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Canadiens scouts National Hockey League All-Stars Rochester Americans players Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec