Stéphane A. Yelle (born May 9, 1974) 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 hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who 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 ...

with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. He is a two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

champion, having won with Colorado in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Playing career

Yelle played with the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

when he was drafted in the 8th round (186th overall) in the

1992 NHL Entry Draft The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was the 30th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Sergei Gonchar, who retire ...

by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. On June 1, 1994, he was traded to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

, and made his professional debut in the 1994–95 season with AHL affiliate, the

Cornwall Aces The Cornwall Aces were the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Quebec Nordiques from 1993 to 1995 and the relocated Colorado Avalanche in 1995–96. They were based in the eastern Ontario city of Cornwall and pla ...

. The following season, Yelle's rights were transferred as the Nordiques relocated to Denver to become the

. In 1995–96, his and the Avalanche's first season in the NHL, Yelle became a regular as he played in 71 games en route to the

Championship. Known as an excellent

faceoff A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the ...

taker and a gritty, hard-working player, Yelle played seven seasons for the Avalanche from 1995 to 2002, capturing another Stanley Cup in the 2000–01 season. On October 1, 2002, prior to the 2002–03 season, Stéphane was traded by the Avalanche, along with

Chris Drury Christopher Ellis Drury (born August 20, 1976) is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He has served as the president and general manager for the New York Rangers since May 5, 2021. He previously served as the genera ...

, to the

for

Derek Morris Derek Morris may refer to: *Sir Derek Morris (academic), Provost of Oriel College, Oxford *Derek Morris (ice hockey) (born 1978), Canadian ice hockey defenceman *Derek Morris (jockey), 1990s UK and Irish based steeplechase rider in Adonis Juvenile ...

Dean McAmmond Dean W. McAmmond (born June 15, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. McAmmond played in the National Hockey League from 1992 to 2010 for nine teams. Pre-NHL career McAmmond played four seasons in the Western Hockey League wi ...

and

Jeff Shantz Jeffrey Dale Shantz (born October 10, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played predominantly in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. Playing career S ...

. Yelle's transition was seamless as he established himself on the Flames checking line, helping Calgary to a

2004 Stanley Cup Finals The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Western C ...

appearance after a seven-year playoff hiatus. Throughout his five seasons with the Flames, Yelle's versatility and defensive prowess was often highlighted as he would often fill-in as a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

when others were out injured. On September 3, 2007, Yelle was signed to a two-year deal with the

. In 2007–08, the veteran played in 51 games scoring 12 points with the Eastern Conference leading Bruins. On August 19, 2009, he signed a one-year contract with the

. After a slow start to the 2009–10 season, the struggling Hurricanes placed Yelle on waivers on October 26, 2009. He went unclaimed and progressively found his feet, staying on the roster. On March 3, 2010, Yelle was traded by the Hurricanes, along with Harrison Reed, back to the Colorado Avalanche for Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll and a sixth-round draft pick. He has since retired and taken a development coordinator position with the Avalanche. Stephane Yelle practice

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

*
NHLPA biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelle, Stephane 1974 births Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Carolina Hurricanes players Colorado Avalanche coaches Colorado Avalanche players Franco-Ontarian people Living people New Jersey Devils draft picks Oshawa Generals players People from Clarence-Rockland Stanley Cup champions Canadian ice hockey coaches