Yann Danis

Yann Danis
Born (1981-06-21) June 21, 1981
Saint-Jérôme, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 New Jersey Devils
Montreal Canadiens
New York Islanders
Amur Khabarovsk (KHL)
Edmonton Oilers
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2004–present

Yann Joseph Richard Danis (born June 21, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Edmonton Oilers. He plays in the butterfly style of goaltending.[1]

Early life

Danis was born to Yves Danis and Ginette Boucher in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec.[2][3] He is the couple's only child.[4] Danis graduated from École Secondaire St-Joseph in Saint-Hyacinthe, a Francophone high school, in 1999.[4][5] He did not start playing hockey until age seven because he was afraid of getting bodychecked. After being reassured by his parents that he would not get hit in minor hockey, however, Danis began playing as a forward at the age of seven.[6] When he was eight, he told his parents that he wanted to switch to goaltender because, he said, "I liked the big goalie pads, and I thought having a catching glove was cool."[6] His parents subsequently bought him the goaltending equipment for Christmas.[6]

After playing for Cap Jeunesse in 1995-96 and Polyvalente of St. Jérôme from 1996–1998, Danis was named to the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League's seventeen-year-old all-star team in 1998–99.[4] He then played with the Cornwall Colts of the Central Junior A Hockey League (CJHL) in 1999-2000. He led the league in goals against average during the regular season, and he was named to the Academic All-Star Team and the Rookie All-Star Team.[4] The Colts finished first in the regular season standings, and they won the Bogart Cup (presented to the CJHL champion) as Danis posted the lowest goals against average of any CJHL goalie in the playoffs. He then helped the team to win the Fred Page Cup (presented to the Eastern Canadian Junior "A" Champions) before the Colts finally finished in fourth place overall in Canada Junior "A" Hockey.[4]

Playing career

College career

Danis was first noticed by Brown University during the 1999 QJAAAHL All-Star Game. Following his year with Cornwall, he chose to attend Brown so he could focus on education along with his hockey career.[6] In attending Brown, he became the first member of his family to attend a university.[3] He started his career with the Brown Bears backing up Brian Eklund in goal. He took over for Eklund in the middle of the season, however, and he went 2-8-1 with a 3.60 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 12 games in a four-win season for Brown. Following the year, he was named a co-recipient of the Kevin R. Pope Memorial Trophy, presented annually by Brown University to the freshman who contributes most to the success of the team.[4][6] The following year, Danis went 11-10-2 in 24 games. His 1.86 GAA and .938 save percentage (second in the nation) both set Brown single-season records, and his three shutouts (ninth in the nation) tied Brown's single season record.[4] Brown made the playoffs that year, but they were swept by Harvard University in the first round. Danis did gain attention in the final game of the series, though, when he made 66 saves in a 2-1 defeat.[6] Following the season, he was named Brown's most valuable player, and he became Brown's first All-American since 1992. He was also named to the ECAC All-Academic team and the New England Hockey Writers Association (NEHWA) All-Star team, and he was named Academic All-Ivy.[4]

Danis posted a 15-14-5 record in 2003, and his .929 save percentage and his 2.31 GAA were second and eighth in the nation, respectively. He set Brown records for shutouts in a season (five, third in the nation), shutouts in a career (eight), and saves in a season (1,043). He became the fourth two-time Brown MVP winner, and he was again selected to the NEHWA All-Star team. He was selected to the All-Academic team again, and he was again named an All-American. His performance helped Brown advance for the first time since 1994 to the ECAC Final Four.[4][6] In 2003–04, Danis posted a 15–11–4 record along with a 1.81 GAA and .942 save percentage that ranked third and second in the nation, respectively. Brown made it to the ECAC quarterfinals, but they were again eliminated by Harvard. However, Danis won multiple awards once again, including First Team Jofa All-American honors, All-United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) First Team honors, NEHWA All-Star honors, and First Team All-ECAC and First Team All-Ivy honors. In addition, he was named the 2004 ECAC Player and Goaltender of the Year, the USCHO Defensive Player of the Year, and the Ivy League Player of the Year.[7] He also took home the Leonard Fowle Award as the MVP of New England, as voted on by the NEHWA, and he became the first Brown finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. During the season, Danis set ECAC records for single-season save percentage and career shutouts (13), and he tied Kevin McCabe for the most career wins by a Bears goaltender with 43. He also graduated from Brown with a degree in Public and Private Sector Economics.[3][6]

Professional career

Danis during an Islander game

The Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens both showed interest in Danis following his junior year in college, but he chose to remain with Brown for his senior year.[6] Following his college career, the Canadiens were still interested in him, and he signed with them on March 19, 2004.[7] Upon signing, he was assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, where he backed up Jean-François Damphousse. He started two games for Hamilton and won both of them, and he also appeared in a playoff game in relief of Damphousse.[8][9]

In 2004–05, Danis became the starting goalie for the Bulldogs, as Damphousse signed with the Quebec Radio X of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey.[10][11] In 53 regular season games, he had 28 wins, 17 losses, six ties, five shutouts, a 2.34 GAA, and a .924 save percentage. The Bulldogs made the playoffs that year, but they were swept in the first round by the Rochester Americans, as Danis lost all four games of the series.[7][12]

Danis was the starting goalie again for the Bulldogs in 2004-05, but he was also called up by the Canadiens several times.[13][14] He played in six games with Montreal in 2005–06. On October 12, 2005, Danis earned a shutout against the Atlanta Thrashers in his first NHL game.[15]

On July 2, 2008, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Islanders.[16] After one season in the Islanders organization, he signed with the New Jersey Devils as an unrestricted free agent on July 10, 2009.[17]

On July 27, 2010, Danis signed with Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.[14] The following year, he signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL.[18] He signed a one-year contract to remain with the Oilers on July 1, 2012. After that contract expired, Danis signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[19]

In the 2014–15 season, Danis belatedly signed as a free agent to a try-out contract with the Norfolk Admirals on November 10, 2014.[20] After 11 games with the Admirals he was released from his try-out and signed with fellow AHL club the Hartford Wolf Pack.

On July 3, 2015, Danis returned to the New Jersey Devils organization as a free agent, signing a one-year, two-way contract.[21]

Personal life

Danis has a wife, Kyla, who is originally from Barbados, and two sons, Jayden and Ryder. They currently reside in Edmond, Oklahoma.[22]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2000–01 Brown University ECAC 12 2 8 1 667 40 0 3.60 .888 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Brown University ECAC 24 11 10 2 1451 45 3 1.86 .938 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Brown University ECAC 34 15 14 5 2074 80 5 2.31 .929 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Brown University ECAC 30 15 11 4 1821 55 5 1.81 .942 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 2 2 0 0 120 3 1 1.50 .933 1 0 0 12 0 0 0.00 1.000
2004–05 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 53 28 17 6 3075 120 5 2.34 .924 4 0 4 237 13 0 3.29 .893
2005–06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 39 17 17 3 2242 111 0 2.97 .902 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 3 2 0 312 14 1 2.69 .908 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 44 23 14 5 2540 119 1 2.81 .905 1 1 0 54 1 0 1.12 .944
2007–08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 38 11 19 4 2064 113 0 3.28 .893 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 10 7 3 0 611 23 0 2.26 .920 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 31 10 17 3 1760 84 2 2.86 .910 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 12 3 2 1 467 16 0 2.05 .923 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Amur Khabarovsk KHL 31 8 17 3 1652 84 2 3.05 .910 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 43 26 14 2 2545 88 5 2.07 .924 14 8 6 842 33 1 2.35 .901
2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1 0 0 0 32 2 0 3.70 .833 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 47 26 15 6 2775 120 2 2.59 .911 17 10 7 1019 41 1 2.41 .923
2012–13 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 1 0 0 110 7 0 3.82 .881 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 31 9 11 4 1514 76 2 3.01 .897 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Norfolk Admirals AHL 11 5 6 0 640 29 2 2.72 .914 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 24 12 7 4 1428 56 2 2.35 .921 14 7 7 887 35 0 2.37 .918
NHL totals 53 17 21 4 2682 123 3 2.75 .910 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honours

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2001–02
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2001–02
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2002–03
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2003 [23]
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2003–04
AHCA East First-Team All-American 2003–04

References

  1. ↑ Scheerer, Mark (2003-11-19). "HOCKEY: COLLEGE REPORT; Brown's Goalie Leads Way". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  2. ↑ "Yann Danis". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  3. 1 2 3 "Brown Bear Magazine" (PDF). The Brown University Sports Foundation. Spring 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Yann Danis". Brown Bears. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  5. ↑ "École Secondaire Saint-Joseph". École Secondaire Saint-Joseph. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cole, Scott (May–June 2004). "The Puck Stops Here". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  7. 1 2 3 "Yann Danis". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  8. ↑ "Yann Danis". hockeygoalies.org. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  9. ↑ "2003–04 American Hockey League [AHL]". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  10. ↑ "2004–05 Hamilton Bulldogs [AHL]". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  11. ↑ "Jean-Francois Damphousse". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  12. ↑ "2004-05 AHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  13. ↑ "2005-06 Hamilton Bulldogs [AHL]". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  14. 1 2 "Yann Danis". TSN. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  15. ↑ Almela, Manny (2005-10-12). "A perfect debut for Danis". NHL.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  16. ↑ "ISLANDERS SIGN G YANN DANIS". NHL.com. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  17. ↑ "Devils sign goaltender Yann Danis". NHL.com. 2000-07-10. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  18. ↑ "Oilers 2011 off-season movement tracker". Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  19. ↑ "Flyers sign Yann Danis to one-year contract". Philadelphia Flyers. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Admirals reassign Marcoux; sign Danis to PTO". Norfolk Admirals. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Danis returns to Devils, signs as free agent". New Jersey Devils. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  22. ↑ Brasset, Yolande (2010-12-22). "Les choses se passent bien pour moi" (in French). Le Journal de Quebec. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  23. ↑ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-05-12.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Chris Higgins
David LeNeveu		 ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
2003–04 		Succeeded by
David McKee
Preceded by
David LeNeveu		 Ken Dryden Award
2003–04 		Succeeded by
David McKee
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