Yanick Lehoux

[boondockdrunk]

Who is Yanick Lehoux? A prospect called up because of injuries?

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Yanick Lehoux was a prized prospect in the Kings system until last week. Due to strange rules about players signed after playing in Europe past a certain date, he had to go through waivers when the Kings signed him to a new contract. The Yotes snatched him up. So with Michalek and Lehoux, the Coyotes have gotten two solid prospects for almost nothing in the past few months.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Lehoux was also one of the leading scorers in the entire AHL last year until he went down with an injury. Due to the lockout, the AHL last year was at its highest talent level ever, so that is no small task.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Lehoux was also one of the leading scorers in the entire AHL last year until he went down with an injury. Due to the lockout, the AHL last year was at its highest talent level ever, so that is no small task.

Sorry to ask.. but how did we get Michalek? And I heard that Lehoux has alot of potential with scoring, but lacks defensive ability. Not that I mind this, we are a great defensive team and can handle a poor defensive center.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Michalek was aquired from Minnesota for Eric Westrum and Dustin Wood.

 

[Compa]

Michalek was aquired from Minnesota for Eric Westrum and Dustin Wood.

I liked Westrum and he played well for the national team, but he wasn't a guy that would be an everyday player for us like Michalek has turned out to be. Is Wood going to be any good?

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Wood was a throw in. Not really a prospect, he will probably never do much in the AHL, nor see much (if any) NHL time.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Lehoux finds dream home with Coyotes

Nov. 10, 2005 12:00 AM

Three thousand miles away from home, in a Swiss city of old money and modern stadiums, Yanick Lehoux's girlfriend asked about the greatness of Wayne Gretzky.

"Let me show you," said Lehoux, who grabbed a tape from his extensive collection of Gretzky DVDs and videos. "He's taught me so much."

Little did the 23-year-old hockey prodigy know that two weeks later, he would be receiving instruction from Gretzky in person. On Friday, the Coyotes claimed center Lehoux off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings and on Tuesday he played in his first NHL game.

What a debut it was. Seven seconds after taking the ice and 1:05 into the game in Minnesota, he scored. The Elias Sports Bureau reports that the goal was the fastest goal from the start of a game by a player making his NHL debut since 1989.

The center's dynamic scoring abilities address a Coyotes need. Now he needs to convince the team, which plays Calgary tonight at Glendale Arena, that he deserves to stay.

"This experience has been great, unbelievable," said Lehoux, a native of Montreal. "But the first few days, I wasn't even thinking about playing in the NHL. I was like, 'Oh, no, I'm around Wayne. I just couldn't believe it.' "

The star-struck player's arrival in Arizona capped a whirlwind three months.

In August, the Kings, who selected Lehoux in the 2000 entry draft, offered him a two-way contract to return to Manchester, N.H., of the American Hockey League. He had played three seasons in Manchester, including a 23-goal, 31-assist effort in 38 games last year before tearing a knee ligament. At the time, he was leading the talent-heavy AHL - which had absorbed several NHL players because of the lockout - in goals and points.

He instead played in Russia for the Moscow Dynamite, who would pay him significantly more than the $75,000 offered by the Kings. Los Angeles management thought he was crazy.

Several weeks in Russia convinced Lehoux it was a bad fit. Lehoux moved on to Switzerland, where he played for seven weeks before swallowing his pride and asking the Kings if he could return.

Sure, they said.

All Lehoux had to do was clear waivers. That was on Friday, and the Kings hoped because it was almost the weekend, the move would be overlooked.

It wasn't. Several Coyotes scouts contacted General Manager Mike Barnett and said, "Get this guy."

"We were surprised to see him available," Barnett said.

The Coyotes jumped at the opportunity. Lehoux, though, boarded a plane in Switzerland thinking he would be assigned to Manchester. Instead, his mom met him at the Montreal airport wearing a Coyotes jersey.

"I'm like, 'What are you wearing? What are doing with a . . . . ' " Lehoux said. "As soon as I finished my sentence, I realized and said, 'Are you kidding me?' And then my dad said, 'Yeah and you're flying to Minnesota because they want you to play there.' I'm thinking, 'Oh my God.' "

After the excitement of his NHL debut wore off, Lehoux had a fresh outlook.

"I'm thrilled about my first game but at the same time, I don't want to just play, I want to start a career."

If he is reassigned, he'll have to clear waivers again and odds are the Kings would pick him up.

"This is where I want to be," he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/1110boivin1110.html

Cool story about meeting his mom at the airport.