Yann Danis

Yann Danis
Born	(1981-06-21) June 21, 1981 Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey goaltender (retired)
Known for	National Hockey League goaltender for Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils

Yann Joseph Richard Danis (born June 21, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) representing the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils. He was known for employing the butterfly style technique in his goaltending.

Early life

Born in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec to parents Yves Danis and Ginette Boucher, Danis is their sole offspring. He completed his studies at École Secondaire St-Joseph, a Francophone secondary school located in Saint-Hyacinthe, graduating in 1999. His introduction to hockey began at seven years old, initially playing as a forward after his parents alleviated his concerns about bodychecking. At age eight, he transitioned to the goaltender position, attracted by the goalie pads and catching glove, which his parents subsequently purchased for him.

In 1995, Danis took part in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Sélects-du-Nord minor hockey squad. His early career included stints with Cap Jeunesse (1995–96) and Polyvalente of St. Jérôme (1996–98). During the 1998–99 season, he was selected for the seventeen-year-old all-star team of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League. The following year, he joined the Cornwall Colts competing in the Central Junior A Hockey League (CJHL), where he led the league in goals against average throughout the regular season and secured positions on both the Academic and Rookie All-Star Teams. The Colts topped the regular season standings and captured the Bogart Cup as CJHL champions, with Danis achieving the lowest playoff goals against average among all CJHL goaltenders. The team advanced to the Fred Page Cup, finishing fourth in the national Canadian Junior "A" Hockey tournament.

College

Danis attracted attention from Brown University during the 1999 QJAAAHL All-Star Game. After completing a year with Cornwall, he opted for Brown to pursue both academic and athletic goals, becoming his family’s first university student. Initially serving as backup to Brian Eklund, Danis assumed starting duties mid-season, concluding with a 2–8–1 record, a 3.60 goals-against average (GAA), and an .888 save percentage over 12 games during a season that saw only four wins. He shared Brown's Kevin R. Pope Memorial Trophy awarded to the most impactful freshman.

In his sophomore year, Danis recorded an 11–10–2 tally across 24 games, setting new Brown single-season benchmarks with a 1.86 GAA and a .938 save percentage—ranking second nationally—and matched the program’s shutout record with three clean sheets. Brown qualified for postseason play but was swept by Harvard University. Danis notably made 66 saves in that final contest. He earned Brown’s Most Valuable Player distinction, becoming its first All-American since 1992, and received honors including ECAC All-Academic team selection, NEHWA All-Star recognition, and Academic All-Ivy accolades.

During 2003, Danis achieved a 15–14–5 record complemented by a .929 save percentage (second nationally) and a 2.31 GAA (eighth nationally). He established new Brown records for single-season shutouts (five), career shutouts (eight), and total saves in one season (1,043). Becoming Brown’s fourth athlete to claim MVP honors twice, he was again named to the NEHWA All-Star team and All-Academic list. His contributions propelled Brown to its first ECAC Final Four appearance since 1994.

In his senior year (2003–04), Danis posted a 15–11–4 record with an outstanding 1.81 GAA and .942 save percentage—ranking third and second nationally respectively. Although Brown reached the ECAC quarterfinals once more, they were again eliminated by Harvard. That season earned Danis First Team Jofa All-American status, USCHO First Team honors, NEHWA All-Star recognition, as well as First Team distinctions within both ECAC and Ivy League selections. He was awarded titles including 2004 ECAC Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year, USCHO Defensive Player of the Year, Ivy League Player of the Year, and received the Leonard Fowle Award as New England’s Most Valuable Player. Additionally, Danis became Brown’s inaugural finalist for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award. He set ECAC records for single-season save percentage and career shutouts (13), tied for most career wins by a Bears goaltender (43), and graduated with a degree in Public and Private Sector Economics.

Professional

After completing his junior year at college, Danis attracted attention from both the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens, yet he opted to remain at Brown for his final collegiate season. Upon finishing college, he signed with the Canadiens on March 19, 2004, and was assigned to their AHL team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, serving as backup to Jean-François Damphousse. He started in two games, winning both, and also participated in a playoff match.

During the 2004–05 season, with Damphousse departing for the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, Danis took over as the primary goaltender for the Bulldogs. Across 53 appearances, he achieved 28 victories, recorded five shutouts, maintained a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA), and posted a .924 save percentage. The Bulldogs qualified for the playoffs but were eliminated in a first-round sweep.

Danis continued as Hamilton’s starting goalie throughout the 2005–06 campaign and was called up multiple times by the Canadiens, appearing in six NHL contests that year. A highlight of that season occurred on October 12, 2005, when he secured a shutout in his NHL debut against the Atlanta Thrashers.

On July 2, 2008, Danis signed with the New York Islanders as an unrestricted free agent. Following one season there, he joined the New Jersey Devils on July 10, 2009.

He then inked a contract with Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on July 27, 2010. The subsequent year saw his return to the NHL under a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, which was extended for another season in 2012. Subsequently, he agreed to a one-year two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

In the 2014–15 season, Danis signed a tryout contract with the Norfolk Admirals. After participating in 11 games, he was released and subsequently joined the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Danis rejoined the Devils organization on July 3, 2015, signing a one-year two-way contract. He made his first NHL appearance since 2013 on March 14, 2016.

On October 18, 2016, Danis secured an AHL contract with the St. John's IceCaps, affiliated with the Canadiens.

He officially announced his retirement on February 11, 2018.

Personal life

Danis is married to Kyla, who hails from Barbados; together they have two sons named Jayden and Ryder. As of 2010, their family resides in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season											Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	OTL	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	—	611	23	0	2.26	.920	—		—	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	New York Islanders	NHL		31	10	17	—	1760	84	2	2.86	.910	—		—	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	New Jersey Devils	NHL		12	3	2	—	467	16	0	2.05	.923	—		—	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Amur Khabarovsk	KHL		31		8		17		1652		84			3		3.05		.910	—		—		—		—		—
2011–12	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		43		26		14		2545		88			5		2.07		.924	14		8		6		842		33		1		2.35		.901
2011–12	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		1		0		32		2		3.70			.833	—		-		-		-		-
2012–13	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		47		26		15		2775		120			2		2.59		.911	17		10		7		1019		41		1		2.41		.923
2012–13	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		3		1		110		7		3.82			.881
2013–14 AHL season	Adirondack Phantoms	AHL		31		9		11		1514		76			2		3.01		.897
2014–15 AHL season	Norfolk Admirals (AHL)	AHL		11		5		6		640████29████2████2.72████914
2014–15	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		24████12████7████1428████56████2████2.35████921
2015–16 AHL season	Albany Devils	AHL		47████28████12████2681████99████8████2.22████908
2015–16 NHL season	New Jersey Devils	NHL		2████-████-████50████4████-████4.75████778
2016–17 AHL season	St. John's IceCaps	AHL 25██11██9██1487██74██1██2.99██902
colspan=3  NHL totals !55	17	22			4	2733	127	3	2.79	.908 !-- !-- !-- !-- !-- !-- !-- !--

Awards and honours

Distinction	Year
Collegiate Achievements
ECAC Hockey Second Team All-Conference	2001–02
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	2001–02
ECAC Hockey Second Team All-Conference	2002–03
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team Selection	2003
ECAC Hockey First Team All-Conference	2003–04
AHCA East First-Team All-American	2003–04