Yann Sauvé
Yann Sauvé | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 1990 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | Ice hockey defenceman |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Known for | Playing for Brûleurs de Loups in the Ligue Magnus; drafted 41st overall by Vancouver Canucks in 2008 NHL Entry Draft |
Yann Michel Sauvé (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Brûleurs de Loups in the Ligue Magnus. Selected 41st overall in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Sauvé spent four seasons competing in major junior hockey with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) before advancing to the Canucks' minor league system in 2010. During the 2010–11 season, he divided his time between Vancouver and their affiliates, including stints with the Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL) and Manitoba Moose (AHL). Following changes to affiliate teams, Sauvé also played for the Chicago Wolves and Utica Comets. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Rigaud, Quebec.
Playing career
Sauvé was chosen first overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2006 QMJHL Entry Draft after spending a season with the Chateauguay Patriotes. He made his debut in the 2006–07 season, tallying two goals and 15 points across 60 games. After the season, he represented Canada at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships, contributing one assist over six contests.
In the 2007–08 campaign, Sauvé enhanced his output to six goals and 21 points. Midway through that season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau (CSB) ranked him 21st among North American prospects. He took part in the CHL Top Prospects Game where he garnered attention due to an altercation with Steven Stamkos. Sauvé played a key role in guiding the Sea Dogs to their inaugural playoff appearance, advancing to the semifinals. Despite this success, his final CSB ranking slipped to 29th, and he was considered one of the top five most overrated prospects prior to being drafted by Vancouver. Evaluated as a physically robust stay-at-home defenceman, Sauvé likened his playing style to that of Mike Komisarek.
After being drafted, he returned to junior hockey for another season, posting five goals and 30 points in 2008–09. Following his team's playoff elimination, he signed an amateur tryout agreement with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose but was released without appearing in a game. In his last QMJHL season (2009–10), Sauvé reached personal bests with seven goals and 36 points and earned defensive player of the week honors in October. The Sea Dogs secured the Jean Rougeau Trophy but fell short in the QMJHL finals; throughout the playoffs, Sauvé contributed 15 points over 21 games.
Professional
On May 31, 2010, Sauvé inked a three-year entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks. During training camp that year, he suffered a concussion after being struck by a vehicle, resulting in more than two months away from play. Initially assigned to Manitoba Moose, he was subsequently reassigned to Vancouver’s ECHL affiliate, the Victoria Salmon Kings, where he made his professional debut on November 26, 2010. After seven appearances with Victoria, Sauvé was recalled to Manitoba on December 16 and recorded assists in each of his first two AHL outings.
By February 2011, due to injuries among Canucks’ regular defencemen, Sauvé was promoted to Vancouver’s NHL roster as a replacement and made his debut on February 15 against the Minnesota Wild.
In 2014, as an unrestricted free agent, he signed with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. Notably, he holds the record for fastest shot at nearly 100 mph during an ECHL All-Star Classic competition. Throughout the 2014–15 season, Sauvé played 13 games with Orlando and was loaned out to several AHL teams including St. John's IceCaps, Springfield Falcons, and Providence Bruins.
On July 16, 2015, Sauvé agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the Portland Pirates. Limited to only three games before reassignment to the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL, he was later traded to the Stockton Heat on March 7, 2016.
As a free agent in 2016, Sauvé embarked on an international career by signing a tryout deal with KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He appeared in 25 games during that season before briefly returning to play for Manchester Monarchs in the ECHL. Soon after, he joined EHC München of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in February 2017.
On August 12, 2017, Sauvé signed with the Nottingham Panthers competing in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Following further European engagements, he returned home to Quebec for the 2021–22 season to play with Laval North Petroliers.
Regular season and playoffs
2016–17 ECHL season Manchester Monarchs ECHL 2||0||2||2||2 2016–17 DEL seasonEHC MünchenDeutsche Eishockey Liga 1||0||0||0||25 12||0||1||1||4 2017–18 EIHL seasonNottingham PanthersElite Ice Hockey League 54||10||27||37||96 4||1||2||3||2 2018–19 Austrian Hockey League season KHL Medveščak Zagreb Austrian Hockey League (EBEL) 24||6||8||14||12 2018–19 EC VSV EBEL 25||2||10||12||26 2019–20 Brûleurs de LoupsLigue Magnus (FRA) 36||6||15||21||57 4||0||2||2||4| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 60 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 69 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 92 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 23 | ||
| 2008–09 | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 61 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 64 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2009–10 | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 61 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 65 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 36 | ||
| 2010–11 | Victoria Salmon Kings | ECHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 39 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 73 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 78 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Kalamazoo Wings | ECHL | 32 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Utica Comets | AHL | 67 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 63 | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| 2014–15 | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | |||||||
| 2014–15 | (multiple teams) |
40||1||5||6||14 | ||||||||||||
|
KHL Medveščak Zagreb Kontinental Hockey League 25||2||1||3||61 | ||||||||||||||
| NHL totals | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 !— | — | — | — | — | |||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Canada Quebec | WHC17 | Template:Gold1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2007 | Canada | WJC18 | 4th place | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Junior total statistics | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | ||||