Stéphane A. Yelle (born May 9, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

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

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. The ...

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and the

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

. He is a two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

champion, having won with Colorado in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

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; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

when he was drafted in the 8th round (186th overall) in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a 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 Conference. The club w ...

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

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

, 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 p ...

. 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 gene ...

, to the

for Derek Morris, Dean McAmmond and Jeff Shantz. 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 Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 NHL season, 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference (NHL), Easter ...

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 l ...

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 Ice hockey people from Clarence-Rockland Stanley Cup champions Canadian ice hockey coaches