Yann Danis

Yann Joseph Richard Danis (born June 21, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils. He played in the butterfly style of goaltending.

Early life Danis was born to Yves Danis and Ginette Boucher in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec. He is the couple's only child. Danis graduated from École Secondaire St-Joseph in Saint-Hyacinthe, a Francophone high school, in 1999. He did not start playing hockey until age seven because he was afraid of getting bodychecked. After being reassured by his parents that he would not get hit in minor hockey, however, Danis began playing as a forward at the age of seven. When he was eight, he told his parents that he wanted to switch to goaltender because, he said, "I liked the big goalie pads, and I thought having a catching glove was cool." After playing for Cap Jeunesse in 1995–96 and Polyvalente of St. Jérôme from 1996–1998, Danis was named to the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League's seventeen-year-old all-star team in 1998–99. He also took home the Leonard Fowle Award as the MVP of New England, as voted on by the NEHWA, and he became the first Brown finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. During the season, Danis set ECAC records for single-season save percentage and career shutouts (13), and he tied Kevin McCabe for the most career wins by a Bears goaltender with 43. He also graduated from Brown with a degree in Public and Private Sector Economics.

In 2004–05, Danis became the starting goalie for the Bulldogs, as Damphousse signed with the Quebec Radio X of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. In 53 regular season games, he had 28 wins, 17 losses, six ties, five shutouts, a 2.34 GAA, and a .924 save percentage. The Bulldogs made the playoffs that year, but they were swept in the first round by the Rochester Americans, as Danis lost all four games of the series.

Danis was the starting goalie again for the Bulldogs in 2004–05, but he was also called up by the Canadiens several times.

On July 2, 2008, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Islanders. After one season in the Islanders organization, he signed with the New Jersey Devils as an unrestricted free agent on July 10, 2009.

On July 27, 2010, Danis signed with Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. The following year, he signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL. He signed a one-year contract to remain with the Oilers on July 1, 2012. After that contract expired, Danis signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

In the 2014–15 season, Danis belatedly signed as a free agent to a try-out contract with the Norfolk Admirals on November 10, 2014. After 11 games with the Admirals he was released from his try-out and signed with fellow AHL club the Hartford Wolf Pack.

On July 3, 2015, Danis returned to the New Jersey Devils organization as a free agent, signing a one-year, two-way contract. On March 14, 2016, Danis made his first NHL appearance since March 10, 2013, coming in relief of Keith Kinkaid, allowing one goal in a 7–1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

On October 18, 2016, Danis signed an AHL contract with the St. John's IceCaps of the Montreal Canadiens organization.

He officially announced his retirement on February 11, 2018.

Personal life Danis has a wife, Kyla, who is originally from Barbados, and two sons, Jayden and Ryder. As of 2010, they reside in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Career statistics 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 — 0 611 23 0 2.26 .920 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 31 10 17 — 3 1760 84 2 2.86 .910 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 12 3 2 — 1 467 16 0 2.05 .923 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Amur Khabarovsk KHL 31 8 17 — 3 1652 84 2 3.05 .910 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 43 26 14 — 2 2545 88 5 2.07 .924 14 8 6 842 33 1 2.35 .901 2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1 0 0 — 0 32 2 0 3.70 .833 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 47 26 15 — 6 2775 120 2 2.59 .911 17 10 7 1019 41 1 2.41 .923 2012–13 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 1 0 — 0 110 7 0 3.82 .881 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 31 9 11 — 4 1514 76 2 3.01 .897 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Norfolk Admirals AHL 11 5 6 — 0 640 29 2 2.72 .914 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 24 12 7 — 4 1428 56 2 2.35 .921 14 7 7 887 35 0 2.37 .918 2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 47 28 12 — 5 2681 99 8 2.22 .908 1 0 0 20 2 0 6.00 .778 2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 2 0 1 — 0 50 4 0 4.75 .778 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 St. John's IceCaps AHL 25 11 9 — 5 1487 74 1 2.99 .902 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 55 17 22 — 4 2733 127 3 2.79 .908 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year College All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2001–02 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2001–02 All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2002–03 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2003 All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2003–04 AHCA East First-Team All-American 2003–04