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Contents
- 1 Playing career
- 2 International play
- 3 Personal life
- 4 Career statistics
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Playing career
Auvitu left his native France in 2008 to continue his development with JYP Jyväskylä of Finland. He logged his first minutes in Finland's top-flight Liiga during the 2010-11 season. In 2012, he claimed the Finnish championship with JYP as well as the 2013-14 edition of the European Trophy. Auvitu left JYP to sign with fellow Liiga side HIFK prior to the 2014-14 campaign. After reaching the finals with HIFK, he won the 2015–16 Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the best defenceman in the Finnish Liiga. He was the first French player to win a Liiga player award.[1] Auvitu also competed in the Champions Hockey League with HIFK.[2]Auvitu signed a one-year entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League on May 27, 2016.[3] He made his NHL debut in the 2016–17 season opener on October 13, 2016 against the Florida Panthers where he got his first NHL point with an assist.[4] On November 11, 2016, Auvitu scored his first NHL goal.[5] He appeared in 25 games with the Devils before splitting the year in the AHL with affiliate, the Albany Devils.
Leaving as a free agent from the Devils in the off-season, Auvitu agreed to a one-year, one-way deal with the Edmonton Oilers on July 10, 2017.[6]
International play
Auvitu has participated in multiple editions of the IIHF World Championship beginning with the 2010 IIHF World Championship tournament as a member of the France National men's ice hockey team.[7]Personal life
Auvitu married Ilariia Gorelova in 2014. The couple met at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences in central Finland.[8] The couple welcomed their daughter, Liya Auvitu in March 2016 in Helsinki, Finland.[citation needed]He is fluent in five languages – French, English, Finnish, Russian and German.[9]
Meet the
World’s Most Interesting Hockey Player
Devils
defenseman Yohann Auvitu is one of the oldest rookies in the NHL, one of only
three Frenchmen in the league, and the (almost) owner of an M.B.A. Oh, and he
speaks five languages…
By
Tal Pinchevsky
Updated Oct. 31, 2016 11:05 p.m. ET
When it comes to NHL player bios,
none of this season’s rookies can compete with Devils first-year defenseman
Yohann Auvitu.
Auvitu has gotten off to a hot start
on American ice, with two assists and a +3 plus/minus rating through eight
games. But he isn’t the usual 19-year-old college grad from Saskatchewan or
20-year-old free agent from Vladivostok. At 27, he is the NHL’s third-oldest
rookie, and one of only three Frenchmen currently playing in the league. He
speaks at least five languages…
Oilers' latest free agent signing, defender Yohann Auvitu, brings some promising fancystats to Edmonton
Yohann Auvitu is an experienced defenceman who turns 28 later this month. The French national spent most of his career in the Liiga, the top Finnish league, where he played 216 games over 5 full seasons, scoring 19-38-57, +33. He came over to North American last summer on a one year trial, splitting the 2016-17 season between the New Jersey Devils (25 GP, 2-2-4, +1) and their AHL affiliate in Albany (29 GP, 5-8-13, -1). He started the season with the big club, was sent down before Christmas, got recalled for a game against the Oilers on January 7 but was injured on his first shift. Upon recovery he was returned to Albany where he finished out his first North American season, then wasn’t qualified by the Devils.Auvitu subsequently had an excellent showing in the World Championships in Paris (7 GP, 2-5-7, +7). It was his eighth consecutive appearance at the Worlds (54 GP) and by far the best for both the player and his country, whose surprise showing included wins over Finland and Switzerland.
Note that he’s shown as playing left wing as well as defence, although his primary position is certainly the latter.
The Oilers signed Auvitu to a one-year contract at
The left-shooting Auvitu is listed at 5’11, 191 pounds. Considered a puck-moving rearguard, his name came up from time to time in analytics circles as a possible fit for the Oilers. I guess we’re going to get a chance to find out.
His game logs suggest this is a player who likes to shoot the puck, as he was credited with at least one shot in all but two of his 54 games, one of those being the 39-second appearance vs. Edmonton. In all he fired 54 shots in 25 NHL games and 84 more in 29 at the AHL level. His deployment offers another clue: he averaged 15:16 a night with New Jersey including 2:05 on the powerplay and 0:00 on the penalty kill. All of which suggests this is an offensive-minded defenceman.
An exploration of his on-ice stats shows why he’s well thought of by the analytically-inclined. In Jersey he was largely paired up with stay-at-home Ben Lovejoy, with whom he played 60% of his five and a half hours at 5v5. He was sheltered to a significant degree, playing just 20% of his even-strength time against Elite competition, by far the least of any Devils defender as per the superb new analytics site PuckIQ.com (a.k.a. “WoodMoney”). However that same source shows Auvitu recorded excellent results in flow of play measures like Corsi and Dangerous Fenwick against all three levels of competition, including that hour-plus against NHL elites. It doesn’t sound like much, but 1+ percent above team average in six out of six measures which include both shot quantity and quality is impressive no matter how serious the sheltering.
adapted from PuckIQ.com
Meanwhile, our old standby site, stats.hockeyanalysis.com, shows Auvitu
having a GoalsFor Percentage of 57%, which looks good on a team that allowed 35
more 5v5 goals than it scored (43.3%). Tinier sample size still — we’re talking
12 goals for, 9 against — but still confirming he didn’t get caved as a
first-year NHLer on a struggling team.All of which suggests to this fancystats dilettante that unless the underlying numbers are, well, lying, the Oilers made a good bet here.
Auvitu becomes the 50th contract on the Oilers’ 50-man list, however the slide rule applies to under-agers Tyler Benson and Dylan Wells to place the effective number at 48. That leaves a tiny bit of manoeuvring room for training camp invites and the like, but may well signal the end of off-season signings.
Competition is good in any NHL
training camp, even when it’s deep in the lineup or even for a spot in the
press box.
So the Edmonton Oilers made the
battle for the last two spots on their blue line a little more intense Monday
when they signed former New Jersey Devil Yohann Auvitu to a one-year contract.
The French defenceman joins a group
that includes Eric Gryba, Mark Fayne and free-agent signing Ryan Stanton, all
of whom will be competing for the sixth and seventh spots in Edmonton.
Auvitu, who turns 28 later this
month, spent most of his career in the Finnish Elite League but came overseas
last season and played 25 games with the Devils. He picked up four points and
was plus-1 in 25 games with New Jersey (only three Devils who played 25 or more
games ended the season in plus figures) and had 13 points in 29 games with
their AHL team in Albany.
He’s five-foot-11, 191 pounds and
signed a one-way, US$700,000 contract.
With Andrej Sekera out for the first
few months of the season while he recovers from knee surgery, the Oilers wanted
to bolster their depth as well as protect themselves in case somebody else goes
down.
Of the four, Gryba is the only one
who spent all year in the National Hockey League, playing 40 games in the
regular season and three more in the playoffs. He likely has an inside track on
the sixth spot until Sekera is back.
Fayne also has experience but spent
half of last season in the minors and carries a US$3.6-million salary-cap hit
in the NHL versus a $2.6-million cap hit in the minors.
Stanton, a St. Albert product, has
120 NHL games to his credit but has spent the last two seasons in the minors.
He’s also on a two-way deal.
The Edmonton Oilers announced on Monday they’ve signed
defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a one-year contract.
The 27-year-old native of Ivry-sur-Seine, France, played 25 games in the National Hockey League last season with the New Jersey Devils, scoring two goals and two assists. He also played 29 games with the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate in Albany.
Auvitu spent six seasons in the Finnish Elite League prior to joining the Devils for 2016-17. He scored 19 goals and 58 points in 216 games there, playing for HIFK Helsinki and JVP Jyvaskyla.
The 27-year-old native of Ivry-sur-Seine, France, played 25 games in the National Hockey League last season with the New Jersey Devils, scoring two goals and two assists. He also played 29 games with the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate in Albany.
Auvitu spent six seasons in the Finnish Elite League prior to joining the Devils for 2016-17. He scored 19 goals and 58 points in 216 games there, playing for HIFK Helsinki and JVP Jyvaskyla.
The Edmonton Oilers announced Monday
the signing of defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a one-year contract.
The 27-year-old played 25 games with
the New Jersey Devils last season, recording four points and two penalty
minutes.
The five-foot-11 blueliner spent the
previous season with the American Hockey League’s Albany Devils. He finished
the season with 13 points and two penalty minutes.
Auvitu has made appearances in eight
World Hockey Championships and played in three World Junior Hockey
Championships.
The Edmonton Oilers have
signed defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a one-year contract.
The 27-year-old Auvitu appeared in
25 games with the New Jersey Devils last season, recording four points (two
goals, two assists) and two penalty minutes.
The five-foot-11, 191-pound native
of Ivry-sur-Seine, France, also played in 29 games with the American Hockey
League's Albany Devils in 2016-17, posting 13 points (five goals, eight
assists) and two penalty minutes.
Auvitu spent six seasons in the
Finnish Elite Leauge (SM-liiga) prior to 2016-17, appearing in 216 games and
registering 57 points.
Also see:
Oilers sign defenceman Yohann Auvitu to one-year deal - Sportsnet.ca
www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/oilers-sign-defenceman-yohann-auvitu-one-year-deal/
2 days ago - The Edmonton Oilers have
signed defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a one-year deal, the ... Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 10, 2017.
Yohann Auvitu: Oilers Second Smart Summer Bet - The Hockey Writers
thehockeywriters.com ›
Edmonton Oilers
20 hours ago - The Edmonton Oilers
signed Yohann Auvitu to a
one-year contract. He's the second of two signings that seem like smart and
safe bets for the ...
Edmonton Oilers sign Yohann Auvitu - OilersNation
https://oilersnation.com/2017/07/10/oilers-sign-yohann-auvitu-to-one-year-contract/
2 days ago - According
to multiple sources, the Edmonton Oilers have inked left-handed defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a
one-year contract. It'll be a ...
Oilers Sign Yohann Auvitu - The Copper & Blue
https://www.coppernblue.com/2017/7/10/15948802/oilers-sign-yohann-auvitu
2 days ago - Edmonton Oilers
Schedule, Roster, News, and Rumors | The ... that they have signed 27-year-old
French defenceman Yohann Auvitu to a ...
Auvitu given a chance
Seventh
Oilers defenceman expected to enter the lineup Saturday versus the Ottawa
Senators
by Paul Gazzola / EdmontonOilers.com
October 12th, 2017
After two consecutive losses, Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan indicated the seventh defenceman will be given a chance to play against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
"I think he can fit our group right now," said McLellan, expressing some concern with the team's defence recently. "It's not like we're lighting the world on fire on the back end. There's other veterans that have had three other opportunities in the games that haven't performed to their capabilities defensively. We're going to give him a chance, we're going to let him go in and see what he can do."
McLellan likes what he's seen of the blueliner.
"I see a guy that moves well with the puck and a guy that has a little spring in his stride," he said. "He can skate pucks out of trouble and we're working on the defensive part of his game.
"He can be a factor if he can get his legs going."
Auvitu was with the New Jersey Devils organization last season, splitting his time between New Jersey and Albany. In 25 games with New Jersey, he had two goals and two assists.
Suiting up for the American Hockey League's Albany Devils, Auvitu had five goals and eight assists in 29 matches.
Mitchell
Attfield Thank God. I was hoping they'd give him a chance. Keep Gryba and
Benning alternating for that 3rd line spot depending on opponents size and
speed.
Now just put a shooter on Nuges wing instead of Looch. Keep kassian there because he fore checks much better. Maybe Slepy if he can start to hit the net again. ...See More
Now just put a shooter on Nuges wing instead of Looch. Keep kassian there because he fore checks much better. Maybe Slepy if he can start to hit the net again. ...See More
Trish Lynn
Thank God! Best news this week. Nurse with Auvitu in. Now if they would just
send Yamamoto back to Junior we could finally finish training camp and get
ready for the season.
Ken Sparks
Good. I liked him in the preseason. He is a puck mover and his defence can't be
any worse than what we saw from everyone in that last game.
Maximus Decimus
Meridius he needs 3 games to prove him self , in one game we ALL can play
good or bad but 3 games is OK..IF after that time he plays GOOD ..there you Go
,
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Brennen Pogge
Nice, nurse has looked awesome I was hoping todd would be moving him up and
putting benning back at the least. But this is even better for right now auvitu
looked great in the preseason, him and gryba are a good big 5 6 pairing. This
will help.
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Alan
Chan Yeah! Let's get back on the winning track! GO OILERS GO!
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BIEN VOYAGE
BY
CAIT MACPHAIL
G
rowing up in Canada often means at least some exposure to
the French language. Be it actual fluency or at least the retention of casual
greetings or phrases often learned in school that tend to stick for most
Canadians outside of Quebec.
To someone who fits the description
of the latter, at first glance the two words, "Bien Voyage," would
appear to simply mean some form of, "good journey" or "good voyage."
From French to English it can also
be interpreted as "well-traveled."
And for Oilers defenceman Yohann
Auvitu, either translation fits all the same.
It's been quite the journey for the
well-traveled man from the suburbs of Paris.
POTENTIAL FIT
No one path to the NHL is the same.
The intricacies along the road to becoming a professional athlete of any kind
can rarely be plotted in a linear fashion. Fleeting is the athlete who can say
it's all gone exactly to plan. That penchant for adaptation and willingness to
unexpectedly rewrite the script defines the character of almost anyone who
reaches the pinnacle of their craft.
It comes down to the ability to
adapt.
Successful people have it.
Professional athletes embody it.
Yohann Auvitu is a lesson in
it.
With the injury to Oilers
defenceman Andrej Sekera in the second round of the 2016-17 playoffs, the club
saw a mainstay on their back end go down with a torn ACL. A blow to the
blueline, no doubt.
The loss of a top-four defender for
at least the first couple months of 2017-18 meant the off-season checklist for
Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli had to be adjusted slightly.
And while his NHL sample size was
small, the Oilers felt comfortable in taking a chance on the 5'11, 27-year-old,
puck-moving Parisian. On July 2, the Oilers signed Auvitu to a one-year
contract. A relatively low-key move for a team that needed a 6/7 stopgap
defenceman, and felt Auvitu could be brought it to compete for the spot.
If anything it was a safe risk for a
European who proved his value on the international stage as well as the Finnish
Elite League from which he was originally plucked by the New Jersey Devils
ahead of the 2016-17 season.
Auvitu was well aware what he was
being brought in for. And with a one-year contract comes some uncertainty, but
for Auvitu it was just another chance to prove he deserves to play the game at
its highest level.
"It's not a long-term
contract," said the d-man from his off-season home in Helsinki, Finland
after signing with the Oilers.
"I'm taking it more as a
challenge - I have to show right away what I'm capable of doing."
Auvitu worked his way through his
first training camp with the Oilers, and even showed off some offensive prowess
during pre-season action in Calgary when he burst down the left wing and fired
a clapper past Flames' goaltender Mike Smith.
"I see a guy that moves well
with the puck and a guy that has a little spring in his stride," said
Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan ahead of Auvitu's regular-season debut in
October.
It was apparent that Oilers coaching
staff had placed importance on helping Auvitu adjust his defensive game to the
NHL, just like the coaches in the New Jersey system had, but thought his nose
for offence and skating abilities were going to be a good fit on a back end
that had some holes to fill at the outset of a new season.
The clichéd nature of the "path
less traveled" could describe his journey to making his NHL debut at 27
years old, but that would insinuate that the same trail had been blazed ahead
of him. But Auvitu is among just three French-born players active in the NHL
right now, and one of only 11 to have ever laced up their skates in at least
one NHL game. A small contingent to be sure.
Instead of simply less-traveled, his
path was more untouched terrain of the unknown and even more so, the unlikely.
Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare of the
Vegas Golden Knights is one of the other two French-born players active in the
NHL currently, the other being Antoine Roussel of the Dallas Stars, and
Auvitu's impressive journey is certainly not lost on him, even coming from
similar humble beginnings in France.
"To be honest, like myself and
Antoine (Roussel), we've all taken different paths but Yohann left so young and
went to Finland to start from scratch basically and he worked his way to being
the best defenceman in the (Finnish Elite) league. That's what he did. He has a
dedication to hockey that is unbelievable," said Bellemare, who also made
his NHL debut in his late 20s, lacing up in his first game with the
Philadelphia Flyers at the age of 29.
BEGINNINGS
Ivry-sur-seine is a suburb 5
kilometres outside of metro Paris. Ice Hockey - as it is more commonly referred
to almost everywhere but Canada - is certainly not the first choice of many
young athletes in France. Auvitu can only remember one ice rink at which a
hockey player could train in Paris when he was growing up.
But Auvitu was on skates by the time
he was 4 years old, encouraged by both his father who had played some house
league hockey and his uncle who had once represented France at the
international level.
Most kids in France when Auvitu was
growing up had walls decked in the colours of the French National Soccer team.
They doned their Les Bleues jerseys with Zidane across the
back with a national pride for a sport that is ingrained in the culture.
Auvitu had a sports memorabilia
collection of a different sort. Namely, shelves of VHS tapes with "Rangers
vs. Blackhawks" or "Flyers vs. Penguins" scrawled across the
labels.
Like most kids in the 90s, if your favourite
show was on and you'd knew you'd miss it, out came the blank VHS tapes. Some
fiddling with the family VCR and a wavering confidence in the timer function on
the TV's menu meant you might get a grainy but viewable program once it was all
said and done.
Blind trust at its best.
But it was the only way a Parisian
kid in an era before social media and regular internet access could satiate his
love of a sport that he deems simply "not part of the culture" of
France.
At that time, the Auvitu household
got one channel that aired NHL games, but it was only once a week: Thursday
mornings at 4am Paris time.
Blank tapes filled with what were
Wednesday night hockey matchups in North America, would be Thursday morning
viewing for Auvitu in France. Those tapes along with the one monthly magazine
he could get his hands on that featured hockey content were the two outlets in
which Auvitu could satisfy a budding passion.
A passion that removed him from his
hometown at the age of 16 to start running down a surprising dream for a kid
from the outskirts of Paris.
The first stop was the French Alps,
a part of France that held more of a hockey identity than where he grew up.
After two seasons with Mont-Blanc of the Division I French league, Auvitu
wanted more. His insatiable desire to prove himself brought him to
Finland.
"I was like a hungry dog. I was
ready to do anything to make my hockey career a success," said Auvitu.
The d-man speaks with what is
clearly a predominantly French accent, but there are inflections unique to his
path- almost like the cadences in his voice map out where he's been and the
stops he's made along the way.
And while he says, with a smile,
that the "rumour" that he speaks five languages is "a bit of a
myth," the languages he can at least understand and communicate in to some
capacity, were mostly picked up as he followed where hockey was taking him and
is impressive all the same.
First was his native tongue French,
ten years of German in school took care of bilingualism. Next was English,
which his jump to the Finnish Elite League brought about.
"When I went to Finland at 17,
I thought I spoke English," Auvitu said with a laugh.
But after one year in Finland he had
a grasp on his third language. Playing in Finland for six years took care of
his Finnish to make it four. And falling in love with a girl from Russia?
That'll help your Russian.
Auvitu's fanatical approach to
self-improvement has come to define his story thus far.
Much like how a defender's vision on
the ice allows him to anticipate what might happen next, Auvitu was busy
plotting out what his life after hockey could look like while he was still in
the midst of climbing through its professional ranks in Finland. While
competing at the highest level of Finnish hockey, Auvitu was also earning his
bachelor's degree in international business.
His fellow French-born NHL
companions are no strangers to his work ethic.
"His dedication is
unbelievable," said Bellemare.
"When I came to North America,
a lot of people said that myself and Antoine (Roussel) were hardworking guys to
make it here. Yohann is even crazier than us. He loves hockey so much."
GROWING THE GAME
Auvitu's rise to prominence in
European hockey is what turned heads in North America. He worked his way
through the ranks in Finland starting at 17, from junior to second tier and
eventually to the Finnish Elite League, where in 2015-16 he was named the
league's best defenceman.
Months later, a meeting with New
Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero in Moscow, Russia, set the wheels in motion for an
opportunity overseas.
And despite on always having his
sights on the height of professional hockey in Europe, Auvitu admits he hadn't
closely followed the NHL until he had the chance to join its ranks about two
years ago.
He knew the stars, knew the teams,
but the chance to share ice with them was a draw of a whole other kind. His
career trajectory had him suddenly knocking on another door, and being the
adaptive person he is, he knew he had to go all-in.
After playing 25 games with the New
Jersey Devils in 2016-17, he tallied two goals & two assists, and had a +1
plus/minus rating on a team where only three players who played 25 or more
games ended their campaign's on the plus side. With New Jersey opting not to
resign the d-man, other teams could show interest.
The Oilers were among a few whose
interests were piqued.
Ultimately Auvitu saw a fit in
Edmonton.
And after nearly four months on the
Canadian side of North America, Auvitu has adjusted well.
"I personally like smaller
cities. Helsinki is probably close to the same size as Edmonton," said
Auvitu, discussing his off-season home in Finland.
"We found it much easier to
adapt, as Europeans, into Canada," said Auvitu, whose wife and infant
daughter made the trip as well. A daughter, who Auvitu says, will be
tri-lingual naturally with French, Russian and English being spoken in their
impressively unique multicultural home.
Finland by way of Paris, to New
Jersey and now Canada. There is something refreshing about the journey. Auvitu
is a part of a unique class at the NHL level, and says being on the North
American side with only two of his fellow countrymen, is a pride they feel
deeply, despite not having widespread recognition back on their home soil.
"It's just unique. Back home,
nobody really talks much about it. Hockey in the newspaper, if we get a quarter
of a page, we're happy with that," said Auvitu.
"But there is great pride in
that and it shows that hockey is getting global. You could have never believed
that 15 or 20 years ago that there could be French players, Danish players and
Norwegian players (in the NHL). It's growing slowly, but it's
growing."
Auvitu's ability to adapt has
defined his path thus far and his latest challenge has been ingratiating
himself not only into a new country, but a new hockey club. And as far as a
life after hockey goes, Auvitu has been working on his masters in international
business from the University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) in Helsinki.
An endeavor that has been put on
hold briefly, as Auvitu's current project is to continue contributing in the
NHL.
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