Phillip Danault

Phillip Danault (born February 24, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks of the 2011 NHL entry draft. Danault has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens. Danault played major junior ice hockey with the Victoriaville Tigres and Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Early life

Danault was born on February 24, 1993, in Victoriaville, Quebec, to Alain and Michelle Danault. His mother is a nurse while his father served as the public address announcer for the Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Playing career

Amateur

In Victoriaville, Danault played minor and bantam hockey with Hockey Bois-Francs and was named captain for his teams in Novice A, Atom BB, Peewee AA and Bantam AA. He also competed in the 2005 and 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Victoriaville Tigres minor ice hockey team. During the 2008–09 season, Danault recorded 27 points with the Trois-Rivières Estacades to help the team qualify for the Jimmy-Ferrari Cup. In the tournament, Danault tallied 15 points through 19 games but the Estacades fell to the Rousseau-Royal de Laval-Montréal in the Finals. At the conclusion of the season, Danault was selected ninth overall by his hometown Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL draft.

Danault set new career highs during the 2010–11 season and was recognized with accolades from the QMJHL. He was selected to represent Team Cherry at the 2011 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and was named Player of the Game in the 2010 SUBWAY Super Series against Russia. In January, Danault was ranked 23rd among North American skaters for the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's midterm ranking list. He was also appointed captain of the Tigres following the departure of Philip-Michael Devos. Danault received the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the QMJHL's best defensive forward after he recorded 23 goals and 44 assists through 64 games. Danault's final draft ranking was 27th among North American skaters and he was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Following the draft, Danault participated in the Blackhawks training camp before rejoining the Tigres for the 2011–12 season. He started the season strong by recording 18 points in his first 19 games and was selected to represent Team QMJHL in the 2011 Subway Super Series. Danault finished the season setting new career-highs with 53 assists and 71 points through 62 regular season games. Upon the Tigres' elimination from the 2012 playoffs, Danault was reassigned to the Blackhawks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for the remainder of their season. He tallied two assists and ten penalty minutes over his seven-game stint with the IceHogs.

On January 8, 2013, Danault was traded to the Moncton Wildcats in exchange for Gabriel Gagné, two first round draft picks in 2014 and 2015, a second round pick in 2015, and a first round Euro pick in 2014. Upon joining the team, Danault was immediately placed on their top line with Dmitrij Jaškin and Ivan Barbashev. In their first eight games together, the trio combined for 22 goals. After the Wildcats were eliminated from the 2013 playoffs, Danault was reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs for the remainder of their season.

Chicago Blackhawks

After attending the Blackhawks' 2013 training camp, Danault was re-assigned to the Rockford IceHogs for the 2013–14 season. While often playing on the IceHogs third-line, Danault recorded six goals and 20 assists in his rookie year.

Danault participated in the 2014 Rookie Tournament in London, Ontario, where he scored three goals over his first two games. Following this, he joined the Blackhawks for their 2014 training camp and played on a line with Dennis Rasmussen and Ryan Hartman. After playing in a few preseason games, Danault was reassigned to the IceHogs to start the 2014–15 season. However, as a result of numerous injuries to the Blackhawks lineup, Danault was recalled to the NHL level on November 21, and he made his NHL debut the following night against the Edmonton Oilers. At the time of the recall, Danault had recorded three goals and seven assists in 14 games with the IceHogs. He played in one more game following his debut before being returned to the AHL on November 24. Danault finished the regular season with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points through 70 games. It was later revealed that Danault had played most of the season with a torn labrum.

Danault underwent surgery to repair his left hip during the 2015 offseason and was expected to miss four months to recover. However, his recovery was quicker than expected and he returned to the IceHogs lineup in December. After playing in six games with the IceHogs, Danault was recalled to the NHL level, and earned his first NHL point with an assist on Andrew Shaw's goal in a 4–3 win against the San Jose Sharks on December 20. A few weeks later, he scored his first career NHL goal on January 8, 2016, in a 3–1 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Montreal Canadiens

After tallying five points through 30 games, Danault was traded to the Montreal Canadiens (along with Chicago's second-round pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft) in exchange for forwards Dale Weise and Tomáš Fleischmann on February 26, 2016. Danault appeared in 21 games with the Canadiens and scored three goals and two assists. On July 5, 2016, Danault signed a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $912,500.

On January 13, 2018, during a game against the Boston Bruins, Danault was hit in the head by a shot from Zdeno Chára and remained motionless on the ice for several minutes. Although he was stretchered off the ice and taken to the hospital, Danault was only kept overnight for observation and was then released to rest at home. On July 15, 2018, Danault signed a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3.08 million.

On December 22, 2018, Danault scored his first career NHL hat-trick in a 4–3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Danault finished the 2018–19 season with a career-high 53 points, and finished seventh in votes for the Selke Trophy.

Los Angeles Kings

After becoming an unrestricted free agent, Danault signed a six-year, $33 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings on July 28, 2021. Danault finished the 2021–22 season with a career-high 27 goals, en route to helping them clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2018. The Kings faced off against the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. In Game 1, Danault scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period to lead the Kings to a 4–3 win over the Oilers. Although he was head-butted by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in Game 6, who was subsequently suspended, Danault staved off an injury and helped push the Oilers to Game 7. However, the Kings were shutout in Game 7 by the Oilers and failed to advance. Danault finished the first-round series with three goals and two assists through seven games and was recognized with numerous team, fan and local media honours.

On March 9, 2023, Danault scored his 99th and 100th NHL goal in a win over the Colorado Avalanche. At the conclusion of the regular season, Danault received the Daryl Evans Youth Hockey Service Award for his role in the Kings Learn-to-Play programming.

On March 3, 2024, Danault recorded his second career hat-trick in a 5–1 win against the New Jersey Devils.

Personal life

Danault married his fiancé Marie-Pierre Fortin on July 21, 2018. They have two children together, a son and daughter.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Danault, Phillip
1993 births
Living people
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Chicago Blackhawks players
Ice hockey people from Centre-du-Québec
Los Angeles Kings players
Moncton Wildcats players
Montreal Canadiens players
NHL first-round draft picks
Sportspeople from Victoriaville
Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players
Victoriaville Tigres players
21st-century Canadian sportsmen