Steve Downie

Steve Downie
Steve Downie with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010.
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 191 lb (87 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers
Born	(1987-04-03)April 3, 1987, Newmarket, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	29th overall, 2005 Philadelphia Flyers
Pro Career	2007 – present

Steve Downie (born April 3, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Downie grew up in Holland Landing, Ontario, the younger son of John and Anne Downie. He has a brother, Greg. He attended Sacred Heart High School in Newmarket, playing hockey for the York-Simcoe Express AAA organization of the OMHA. He also attended St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Windsor, Ontario in 2004. Downie led his Express Bantam team to the All-Ontario AAA Championship in April of 2002. He was drafted in the 1st round (16th overall) by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection.

Downie was selected in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Not long after being drafted, Downie was suspended for five games early in the 2005–06 OHL season for an on-ice altercation with teammate Akim Aliu. During a practice on September 28, 2005, Downie blindly cross-checked Aliu in the face without warning, knocking out 3 of his teeth, and then proceeded to fight his younger teammate. The incident stemmed from 16-year-old Aliu's refusal to take part in a hazing incident, where he would have been forced to stand naked in a cramped bus bathroom with other rookies. The team suspended Downie for five games and Aliu for one, and Downie was told to undergo professional counseling. Head coach Moe Mantha, Jr. was suspended by the OHL and later fired by the team, and the team was fined $35,000 by the OHL. Downie left the team, requesting a trade, and was eventually traded from the Windsor Spitfires, going to the Peterborough Petes in exchange for Peter Aston.

Brent Sutter named Downie to the Canadian World Junior Team for the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He made a name for himself in Vancouver where he was a contributor to Canada’s gold medal-winning effort, scoring two goals and four assists in six games and being named to the all-tournament team.

On May 30, 2006, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they had signed Downie to a three-year entry-level contract. “It is unbelievable,” said Downie in a Flyers press release. “[Signing with the Flyers] was one of the goals that I had set at the beginning of the year and I am just very thankful for this chance. I’m a gritty, physical player and I also am an offensive player as well.”

After attending Flyers' training camp in the fall and playing in several pre-season games, the club returned Downie to Peterborough. Downie returned to the international stage yet again in December 2006. He participated at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Leksand and Mora, Sweden. On January 5, 2007, Team Canada won the gold medal for the first time on European ice since 1997, with a 4–2 defeat over Team Russia. Throughout the whole tournament, though, Downie was involved in trade rumors. On January 8, 2007, Downie was traded to Kitchener in exchange for Yves Bastien, the Rangers' second-round picks in the 2007 and 2008 OHL Priority Selections, as well as the 2007 second-round pick of the Brampton Battalion.

NHL

Downie made his National Hockey League debut on December 5, 2007 against the Minnesota Wild. He scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 5, 2008. During the game, Downie got into a scuffle with Leafs forward Jason Blake. While the linesmen were attempting to keep them apart, Downie got his left arm loose and sucker-punched Blake in the left eye while Blake's arms and hands were still tied up by the other linesman. During a game against the New York Rangers on February 9, 2008, Downie was hip-checked by Rangers defenseman Fedor Tyutin, and his skate hit linesman Pat Dapuzzo in the face. Dapuzzo required 60 stitches and suffered a broken nose, and was forced to retire.

In game three of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 13, 2008, Downie hit Petr Sykora as the play ended on Ryan Malone's goal that gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. Sykora did not have the puck when Downie hit him. On November 7, 2008, Downie was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Steve Eminger for defenceman Matt Carle.

In March of 2010, Downie was fined for a hit on Sidney Crosby. Downie stated that Colin Campbell, league disciplinarian, told him it was a "dangerous play". Downie finished his first full season with 46 points in 79 games. After a successful season he was selected to participate in the 2010 World Championships. On August 25, 2010, Downie re-signed with the Lightning on a 2 year bridge contract with $3.7 million.

Suspensions

Downie has been suspended for several incidents, in addition to the Aliu incident mentioned above. During a September 25, 2007, preseason game against the Ottawa Senators, Downie was involved in an incident in which he checked unsuspecting left winger Dean McAmmond into the boards, while Downie's feet were off the ice. Due to the extent of McAmmond's injury and having left his skates during the hit, Downie was suspended by the NHL for 20 games three days later for deliberate injury to McAmmond, as the NHL were cracking down on any play resulting in a head injury. To date, it is the fifth longest suspension given by the league. One day after the NHL suspension was announced, the Flyers announced they had sent Downie down to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. Per AHL by-laws, Downie was considered automatically ineligible to play pending a review by the AHL (as the AHL honors NHL suspensions). AHL President David Andrews suspended Downie for the first month of the 2007-2008 AHL season as a result of the attempt injuries to McAmmond.

On February 28, 2009, Downie, by this point playing for the Norfolk Admirals (the Lightning AHL affiliate), slashed a linesman in the shin following a controversial empty-net goal in a game against the Hershey Bears, receiving a game misconduct for physical abuse of an official. Under AHL rules, this penalty carries an automatic 20-game suspension, which would be Downie's second such lengthy suspension.

Awards

• 2006: Gold Medal (2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)
• 2007: Gold Medal (2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	Aurora Tigers	OPJHL		34	12	13	25	55		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	York-Simcoe Express Min. Midget	OMHA		14	5	13	18	27		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		49	7	9	16	90		4	0	1	1	27
2004–05	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		61	21	52	73	179		11	4	5	9	49
2005–06	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		1	3	0	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Peterborough Petes	OHL		34	16	34	50	109		19	6	15	21	38
2006–07	Peterborough Petes	OHL		28	23	36	59	92		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Kitchener Rangers	OHL		17	12	21	33	32		9	8	14	22	15
2006–07	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		21	5	12	17	114		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		32	6	6	12	73		6	0	1	1	10
2008–09	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		6	0	0	0	11		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		4	1	7	8	23		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		23	8	17	25	107		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		23	3	3	6	54		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		79	22	24	46	208		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		57	10	22	32	171		17	2	12	14	40
NHL totals				197	41	55	96	517		23	2	13	15	50

Personal

• Downie's father, John Downie, died in a car accident in 1996 while driving Steve to a hockey practice.
• He is deaf in his right ear due to the hearing disorder otosclerosis and wears a hearing aid.
• On the road he rooms with linemate and friend Steven Stamkos.

International play

Played for Ontario in:

• 2004 World Hockey Challenge

Played for Canada in:

• 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
• 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
• 2010 World Ice Hockey Championships

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	Ontario	U-17	6	3	3	6	8
2006	Canada	WJC	6	2	4	6	16
2007	Canada	WJC	6	1	4	5	16
2010	Canada	WC	7	2	0	2	28

External links

• Steve Downie's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Steve Downie's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Steve Downie at TSN.ca
• Spits Rookie Steve Downie named to Ont. Under-17 - 11/20/03
• Petes gets stronger with Downie's arrival - 11/12/05
• Rangers Land Downie From Petes - 01/08/06
• Steve Downie's controversial hit on Dean McAmmond

Preceded by Mike Richards

Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 2005

Succeeded by Claude Giroux