Alex Barré-Boulet

Alex Barré-Boulet
Barré-Boulet with the Syracuse Crunch in 2020
Born (1997-05-21) May 21, 1997 (age 27)
Montmagny, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Montreal Canadiens
Laval Rocket (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Seattle Kraken
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Alex Barré-Boulet (born May 21, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning in March 2018. Barré-Boulet has also previously played for the Seattle Kraken.

Playing career

Junior

Barré-Boulet played at the midget level in his native Quebec with both the Rive-Sud Express Midget Espoir and Lévis Commandeurs of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League (QMAAA) from 2012 to 2014. He was a late round draft pick to the Drummondville Voltigeurs (102nd overall) in the 2013 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Entry Draft. Developing early as an offensive under-sized forward, Barré-Boulet lead the Voltigeurs with 54 assists, placing second in team scoring with 89 points in just his second season in the QMJHL in 2015–16.

During his third season in the QMJHL in 2016–17, Barré-Boulet was traded by the Voltigeurs to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in exchange for two players and three draft selections on January 6, 2017.[1] In scoring at a greater than point-per-game pace with the Armada, Barré-Boulet recorded 14 goals to lead the league in that year's playoffs.[2]

Originally undrafted into the National Hockey League (NHL), Barré-Boulet secured a three-year, entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 1, 2018.[3] He finished the 2017–18 QMJHL season recording a league-leading 53 goals and 63 assists for 116 points in 65 games to claim the Jean Béliveau Trophy as well as the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as league MVP.[4] Barré-Boulet would help the Armada advance to the President's Cup Finals that spring, ultimately falling short against the Acadie–Bathurst Titan in six games.[5]

Professional

Having ended his junior career, Barré-Boulet attended both the Tampa Bay Lightning's rookie and main training camps, before he was reassigned to American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Syracuse Crunch to begin the 2018–19 season. Barré-Boulet scored the game-winning goal in his professional debut on October 6 and went on to be the top-scoring rookie in the AHL during the regular season with 68 points in 74 games for the Crunch, placing sixth in the league's overall scoring race. He earned a share of the Willie Marshall Award as the league co-leader with 34 goals, alongside teammate Carter Verhaeghe.[6] He likewise won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as most outstanding rookie.[7]

During the 2019–20 AHL season, Barré-Boulet exploded offensively, putting up 40 points in 43 games before the annual All-Star break.[8] He recorded his professional hat-trick on February 28, 2020, against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[9]

Barré-Boulet was one of the eight players called up to the Lightning for their training camp prior to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.[10]

On February 22, 2021, Barré-Boulet skated in his first career NHL game in a 4–2 Lightning win over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.[11][12] On April 25, he recorded his first career NHL goal and point in a 4–3 Lightning overtime win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets at Amalie Arena.[13] Barré-Boulet subsequently signed a three-year contract exentension to remain with the Lightning in July 2021.[14]

On October 10, 2021, he was placed on waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was claimed by the Seattle Kraken the next day.[15] He played two games for Seattle recording an assist before, on October 21, he was placed on waivers by the Kraken, and was reclaimed by the Lightning the next day.[16]

As an unrestricted free agent following the 2023–24 NHL season, Barré-Boulet signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, 2024.[17] After beginning the 2024–25 NHL season with the Canadiens, Barré-Boulet was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, assigned to the Laval Rocket, Montreal's AHL affiliate, on October 14, 2024.[18]

Personal life

Barré-Boulet's wife, Anne-Marie, gave birth to their first son, Zack, on February 16, 2022.[19] The couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Anna, in March 2023.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Lévis Commandeurs QMAAA 11 1 2 3 4 4 2 1 3 2
2013–14 Lévis Commandeurs QMAAA 32 21 19 40 6 6 2 7 9 8
2014–15 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 68 23 28 51 24 — — — — —
2015–16 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 65 35 54 89 42 4 1 1 2 8
2016–17 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 37 17 31 48 26 — — — — —
2016–17 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada QMJHL 28 12 21 33 16 20 14 17 31 10
2017–18 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada QMJHL 65 53 63 116 67 19 13 14 27 14
2018–19 Syracuse Crunch AHL 74 34 34 68 18 4 1 2 3 0
2019–20 Syracuse Crunch AHL 60 27 29 56 22 — — — — —
2020–21 Syracuse Crunch AHL 10 8 4 12 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 15 3 0 3 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Seattle Kraken NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 14 3 2 5 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Syracuse Crunch AHL 58 16 47 63 32 5 0 3 3 2
2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2022–23 Syracuse Crunch AHL 69 24 60 84 58 5 1 8 9 2
2023–24 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 36 6 3 9 10 — — — — —
2023–24 Syracuse Crunch AHL 23 4 15 19 6 8 4 3 7 0
NHL totals 68 12 6 18 14 — — — — —

Awards & honours

Award Year Ref
QMJHL
First All-Star Team 2018 [21]
Jean Béliveau Trophy 2018 [22]
Michel Brière Memorial Trophy 2018 [23]
CHL
CHL Player of the Year 2018 [24]
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2019 [25]
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award 2019 [26]
Willie Marshall Award 2019 [6]
All-Star Game 2020, 2023 [27][28]
Second All-Star Team 2020 [29]
First All-Star Team 2023 [30]

References

  1. ^ "Barré-Boulet échangé à l'Armada" [Barré-Boulet traded to the Armada]. TVA Sports (in French). January 6, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "QMJHL Playoff Scoring Leaders 2017". QuantHockey.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Lightning sign free agent forward Alex Barre-Boulet to entry-level contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via NHL.com.
  4. ^ Blouin, Maxime (April 5, 2018). "The 2018 Golden Puck Awards: a night to remember!". CHL.ca. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titan win President's Cup, head to Memorial Cup". CBC News. May 14, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Crunch teammates claim AHL scoring titles". TheAHL.com. April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  7. ^ "Crunch's Alex Barre-Boulet wins AHL's Outstanding Rookie Award". LocalSYR.com. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. ^ "Alex Barre-Boulet Named 2020 AHL All-Star". TheAHL.com. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  9. ^ "Barre-Boulet's hat trick lifts Syracuse Crunch past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton". Syracuse.com. February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Lightning announce 2020 training camp roster, schedule". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020 – via NHL.com.
  11. ^ @TBLightning (February 22, 2021). "Couldn't be happier for ya, BB!

    Congrats! 🥳"     (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Palat, Stamkos, Hedman help Lightning beat Hurricanes". Sportsnet.ca. February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Barre-Boulet scores first NHL goal on power play". NBC Sports. April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  14. ^ Faiello, Mari (July 30, 2021). "Lightning sign Alex Barre-Boulet to three-year deal". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  15. ^ @SeattleKrakenPR (October 11, 2021). "The Seattle Kraken have claimed forward Alex Barré-Boulet off waivers from Tampa Bay" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Lightning claim forward Alex Barre-Boulet off waivers from Kraken". Sportsnet.ca. October 22, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "One-year contract for Alex Barré-Boulet". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  18. ^ Cowan, Stu (October 13, 2024). "Canadiens forward Alex Barré-Boulet clears waivers, headed to Laval". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Smith, Joe (February 19, 2022). "'I can't believe this is my baby': Alex Barre-Boulet becomes a father as he works his way back to the Lightning". The Athletic. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  20. ^ @SyracuseCrunch (March 2, 2023). "Another BB 💕

    Congratulations to Alex Barré-Boulet and his wife Anne-Marie on the birth of their daughter Anna!"     (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "Awards - QMJHL First All-Star Team". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  22. ^ "Awards - QMJHL Most Points (Jean Beliveau Trophy)". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "Armada star Alex Barre-Boulet named QMJHL MVP; Zadina top prospect". Sportsnet.ca. April 4, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  24. ^ "CHL Awards: David Branch Player of the Year Award". CHL.ca. 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "2018-19 American Hockey League All-Rookie Team Named". OurSportsCentral.com. April 10, 2019.
  26. ^ "Barre-Boulet voted AHL's Outstanding Rookie". TheAHL.com. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "Rosters announced for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic". TheAHL.com. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  28. ^ "Alex Barré-Boulet, Darren Raddysh, Gabriel Dumont Named 2023 AHL All-Stars". TheAHL.com. January 11, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  29. ^ "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Teams unveiled". TheAHL.com. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  30. ^ "Alex Barre-Boulet, Darren Raddysh Named to 2022-23 AHL First All-Star Team". TheAHL.com. April 13, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
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