Patrice Cormier

Patrice Victor Cormier (born June 14, 1990) is an ice hockey forward currently a member of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. He was drafted in the second round, 54th overall, by the New Jersey Devils at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was the captain at the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships of Team Canada. On January 25, 2010, Cormier was suspended for the remainder of the 2009–10 QMJHL regular season and playoffs for an elbow he delivered to Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts. Shortly after, his NHL rights were traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.

Rimouski Océanic
Cormier started his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) career with the Rimouski Oceanic. During his rookie season he scored 11 goals and added 10 assists 53 games. He also represented New Brunswick in the ice hockey tournament at the 2007 Canada Games, where Cormier scored seven goals and thirteen assists in six games played as his team finished in seventh place. followed that up with a better 2007–08 season in which he posted 18 goals and 23 assists with 84 PIMs in 51 games. However, during the 07–08 season, Cormier was riddled with injuries, including a burst appendix, concussion, and a pair of shoulder problems, all of which hampered his play and perhaps his draft position. He entered the 2008 NHL Draft ranked 61st amongst the North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Despite this ranking, the New Jersey Devils made him the 54th overall pick and selected him in the second round, due to the fact that he projected to be a power forward, a highly coveted player type. Cormier had compared himself to and says he models his game after winger Todd Bertuzzi, another player well known for dangerous and illegal play. His older brother, Kevin, was also a member of the Devils organisation.

Cormier experienced a breakout performance during the 2008–09 QMJHL season, in which he posted career highs of 23 goals, 28 assists, 51 points, and 118 PIMs. His great performance continued with the QMJHL playoffs in which he led Rimouski to the semifinals of the playoffs with four goals and six assists in 13 games, along with 30 PIMs, and the squad qualified for the Memorial Cup. While competing with the Océanic, Patrice followed up the QMJHL playoffs with strong Memorial Cup play and was named to the 2009 Memorial Cup All-Star team for host Rimouski.

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
During the 2010 WJCs, Cormier was traded in a blockbuster deal with Jordan Caron from Rimouski to Rouyn-Noranda for Michaël Beaudry, Alexandre Mallet, first round picks in 2010 and 2012, and a second round pick in 2012. He had 11 goals and 15 assists with 57 PIMs in 28 games with the Océanic before the trade. Shortly after he was traded, Cormier was involved in an incident where he severely injured an opponent, Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts, with an elbow that sent the latter player to hospital. The Remparts filed a police complaint over the hit. Cormier faces criminal charges over the hit against Tam. On January 18, 2010, Cormier was suspended indefinitely by the QMJHL pending a full review of the incident. New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello questioned the suspension and said the Devils' prospect should not face a season-long suspension or legal action. As of January 25, 2010, Cormier has been suspended by the QMJHL for the rest of the 2010 season. He finished his Rouyn-Noranda Huskies career with five assists in three games before the season-ending (and QMJHL career-ending) suspension.

Professional
On February 4, 2010, Cormier was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors and a 1st round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft for Ilya Kovalchuk.

After Rouyn-Noranda was eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs, Cormier was named to the playoff roster for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.

His first NHL goal was scored on January 7, 2011 against James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

International play
Cormier represented Canada in the IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in 2009 on their way to a gold medal and scored a goal and had two assists in six games. At the 2010 event, he served as the captain of Canada, and added two goals and three assists in six games as Canada took home silver.

Awards

 * Played in the 2007–08 CHL Top Prospects Game
 * Named to the 2009 Memorial Cup All-Star Team

Regular season and playoffs
As of the end of the 2010–11 season.