Yanni Gourde

Yanni Gourde
Gourde with the Seattle Kraken in May 2023
Born (1991-12-15) December 15, 1991 (age 32)
Saint-Narcisse, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb)
Position Centre / Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Seattle Kraken
Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–present

Yanni Gourde (born December 15, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Gourde signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent in 2014. Gourde won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Playing career

Junior

As a youth, Gourde played in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from the south shore of Quebec City.[1]

At 17 years old, Gourde played major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for four seasons with the Victoriaville Tigres. He won the QMJHL's top scorer award as well as the league's most valuable player (MVP) award in 2011–12 season after compiling 37 goals and 87 assists for 124 points through 68 games.[2]

Professional

In 2012, Gourde signed a two-year contract with the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League (AHL). During his final season with the Sharks, 2012-13, Gourde only managed 8 goals in 54 games, so he was not re-signed.[3] He then had a short stint with the San Francisco Bulls of the ECHL.

Gourde then with the Kalamazoo Wings, where he posted 34 points in only 30 games.[4] This caught the attention of the Sharks, who then signed him to a professional tryout offer (PTO) on January 6, 2014. Gourde achieved 24 points in 25 games with the Sharks during the 2013–14 season.[4]

Tampa Bay Lightning

On March 10, 2014, Gourde agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the Syracuse Crunch and a two-year entry-level contract with their NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning, to begin the 2014–15 season.[5] He responded to surprisingly lead the Crunch in goals scored with 29, including a team-leading eight on the powerplay. He completed his break-out season with 57 points in 76 games.[citation needed]

Gourde was returned to the Crunch after competing in the Lightning's training camp to begin the 2015–16 season.[6] He continued his scoring pace from the previous season and placed third amongst the team points when he received his first NHL recall to the Lightning on December 14, 2015.[7]

On December 14, 2015, the Lightning recalled Gourde along with teammate Joël Vermin.[8] On December 15, 2015, Gourde made his NHL debut in a 5–4 overtime Lightning win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gourde also registered his first career NHL assist and point on a Mike Blunden goal.[9]

Gourde with the Syracuse Crunch in 2017.

On July 25, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Gourde to a one-year, two-way contract. Gourde appeared in two games the previous season, recording an assist and two penalty minutes. He also played in 65 games with the Crunch, recording 14 goals and 44 points.[10]

On March 11, 2017, Gourde scored his first NHL goal, against the Florida Panthers, shorthanded on the penalty kill.[11] In so doing, Gourde became the fourth Lightning player to score their first career goal shorthanded.[12]

On June 26, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed Gourde to a two-year, $2 million contract extension.[13]

During the 2017–18 season Gourde was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for February.[14] On March 6, 2018, Gourde recorded two goals in a 5-4 overtime Lightning victory over the visiting Florida Panthers.[15] His two goal effort tied him with Tyler Johnson for the most goals during a rookie season by a Lightning player.[16] On March 30, 2018, Gourde moved past Ondřej Palát (59) for second most points in a season by a Lightning rookie.[17] On April 6, Gourde recorded one goal and two assists in a 7–5 Lightning victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The goal moved Gourde past Tyler Johnson for most goals by a Lightning rookie, with 25. Gourde also passed Brad Richards for the most points in a season by a Lightning rookie, with 64.[18][19] On April 12, Gourde made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in a 5–2 Lightning home win against the New Jersey Devils.[20] He recorded his first career playoff goal, assist and point in the Lightning victory, becoming only the second player in Lightning history to have a multi-point game in their playoff debut.[21]

On November 2, 2018, the Lightning signed Gourde to a six-year, $31 million contract extension.[22] On March 22, 2019, Gourde was suspended for two games for an illegal check to the head of Carolina Hurricanes' captain Jordan Staal at PNC Arena the previous night.[23]

Seattle Kraken

Gourde (right) with Jakob Chychrun (left) in March 2023.

On July 21, 2021, Gourde was selected from the Lightning at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft by the Seattle Kraken.[24] Following the draft, it was announced that Gourde was expected to miss the first two months of the 2021–22 NHL season to recover from shoulder surgery.[25] While sidelined, Gourde was named an alternate captain for the Kraken alongside Jordan Eberle, Adam Larsson, and Jaden Schwartz.[26] He eventually made his season debut on October 19 where he played on the top line with Schwartz and Eberle against the New Jersey Devils.[27] Gourde scored his first goal with the Kraken on October 26 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Gourde finished the 2022–23 season with 48 points in 81 games, where the Kraken qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Gourde scored an overtime goal against the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs, getting the Kraken a 5–4 win and a 1–0 series lead.[28]

Personal life

Gourde was named after the Greek composer Yanni. His parents saw the artist's name in the credits of a movie they had watched while his mother was pregnant with him, which resulted in them deciding to give him the first name Yanni.[29]

Gourde and his wife Marie-Andrée had their first child on May 1, 2018.[30]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Lévis Commandeurs QMAAA 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Jonquière Élites QMAAA 41 23 30 53 50 4 1 5 6 6
2008–09 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 59 11 17 28 36 16 2 3 5 20
2010–11 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 68 26 42 68 48 9 4 6 10 12
2011–12 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 68 37 87 124 70 4 1 2 3 6
2011–12 Worcester Sharks AHL 4 1 2 3 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Worcester Sharks AHL 54 8 6 14 41 — — — — —
2012–13 San Francisco Bulls ECHL 8 4 6 10 9 — — — — —
2013–14 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 30 15 19 34 19 — — — — —
2013–14 Worcester Sharks AHL 25 4 20 24 26 — — — — —
2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 18 2 6 8 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 76 29 28 57 61 3 1 1 2 10
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 65 14 30 44 42 — — — — —
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 2 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL 56 22 26 48 54 22 9 18 27 29
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 20 6 2 8 8 — — — — —
2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 25 39 64 50 17 2 5 7 8
2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 22 26 48 66 4 1 0 1 0
2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 70 10 20 30 49 25 7 7 14 19
2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 56 17 19 36 44 23 6 1 7 13
2021–22 Seattle Kraken NHL 74 21 27 48 45 — — — — —
2022–23 Seattle Kraken NHL 81 14 34 48 76 14 4 9 13 14
2023–24 Seattle Kraken NHL 80 11 22 33 62 — — — — —
NHL totals 545 126 190 316 402 83 20 22 42 54

Awards and honours

Award Year
QMJHL
Jean Béliveau Trophy – Top Scorer 2012 [31]
Michel Brière Memorial Trophy – MVP 2012 [32]
First All-Star Team 2012 [32]
NHL
Rookie of the Month February 2018 [14]
Stanley Cup champion 2020, 2021 [33]

Records

  • Most points by a Tampa Bay Lightning rookie, 64 (2017–18)
  • Most goals by a Tampa Bay Lightning rookie, 25 (2017–18)

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "Yanni Gourde Makes NHL Dream a Reality with Lightning". phpa.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "How Yanni Gourde is seizing his improbable Lightning opportunity". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Nichols, Geoff (July 3, 2017). "Yanni Gourde Earned His Lightning Contract". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "Lightning agree to terms with forward Yanni Gourde". Tampa Bay Lightning. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  6. ^ "Lightning reduce training camp roster by 23". Tampa Bay Lightning. September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  7. ^ "Lightning recall forwards Vermin and Gourde". Tampa Bay Lightning. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  8. ^ Kramer, Lindsay (December 14, 2015). "Tampa Bay Lightning recall 2 more forwards from Syracuse Crunch". Syracuse.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  9. ^ Brophy, Mike (December 15, 2015). "Lightning rally past Maple Leafs in Bernier's return". NHL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  10. ^ Tampa Bay, Lightning (July 25, 2016). "Lightning Re-Sign Forward Yanni Gourde". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  11. ^ Long, Corey (March 11, 2017). "Lightning hand Panthers fifth straight loss". NHL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  12. ^ @BBurnsNHL (March 11, 2017). "Gourde 4th Lightning player to score first goal shorthanded" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Lightning re-sign forward Yanni Gourde to two-year, one-way contract". NHL.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  14. ^ a b NHL (March 1, 2018). "Gourde named NHL Rookie of Month for February". NHL.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  15. ^ Mooney, Roger (March 7, 2018). "Brayden Point does it again as Lightning wins in OT". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  16. ^ Burns, Bryan (March 7, 2018). "Burns: 3 things from another overtime win". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  17. ^ Satriano, David (March 30, 2018). "Lightning regain first in Atlantic, defeat Rangers". NHL.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  18. ^ Mooney, Roger (April 6, 2018). "Lightning journal: Yanni Gourde sets two rookie records". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  19. ^ @TBLightning (April 7, 2018). "Gourde now owns the single season rookie record for the most points (63) and most goals (25) in Bolts Franchise history" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Mooney, Roger (April 12, 2018). "Tony Cirelli makes his playoff presence felt immediately for Lightning". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  21. ^ Burns, Bryan (April 13, 2018). "Remarkable rookie season continues for Yanni Gourde". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  22. ^ "Lightning re-sign forward Yanni Gourde to six-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  23. ^ "Gourde suspended two games for actions in Lightning game". NHL.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  24. ^ Burns, Bryan (July 21, 2021). "Lightning lose Yanni Gourde to Seattle in Expansion Draft". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  25. ^ "Gourde out first two months of season for Kraken after shoulder surgery". National Hockey League. July 21, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  26. ^ Condor, Bob (October 11, 2021). "Giordano Wears the 'C'". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  27. ^ Condor, Bob (October 19, 2021). "Final Buzzer: Better, Not Best". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  28. ^ HAWKINS, STEPHEN. "Gourde gets OT goal, Kraken beat Stars despite Pavs' 4 goals". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  29. ^ Campbell, Ken (February 13, 2018). "Long, Winding Road Leads To NHL Success For Lightning Rookie Gourde". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  30. ^ Rosen, Dan (May 3, 2018). "Gourde helps Lightning win Game 3 against Bruins after birth of daughter". NHL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  31. ^ "Place au Drakkar!" (in French). La Nouvelle Union. March 18, 2012. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  32. ^ a b "The Golden Puck Awards: recognition of excellence". QMJHL. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  33. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning win Stanley Cup in Pandemic Bubble". New York Times. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.