The early Connor McDavid days weren’t fun.
After making the postseason in 2016-17, the first time in 11 seasons, the Oilers proceeded to miss the playoffs for the next two seasons. One of these seasons, 2017-18, was the season the Wheel of Names landed on this time. There is no better example of a forgotten Oiler from that period than Yohann Auvitu.
Born in Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, France, the defenceman made his professional debut with Mont-Blanc in 2006-07, scoring eight goals and 10 points in 23 games. He followed that up with five goals and 10 points in 20 games, before heading to a more traditional hockey nation, Finland.
After playing a couple of seasons with JYP Jyväskylä’s under-20 team, he made his SM-Liiga debut in 2010-11, playing seven games with no points. The next season, Auvitu scored a goal and two points in 33 games while winning the league’s title. Auvitu followed that with a three-goal, 12-point season in 2012-13. His numbers took a hit in 2013-14, scoring a goal and six points in 29 games but he finally broke out after signing with HIFK Helsinki.
Auvitu blew past his career totals in 2014-15, scoring eight goals and 16 points in 55 games. The following season, his final in the SM-Liiga for a while, saw him score six goals and 21 points, with six goals and 13 points in 18 postseason games. He won the Pekka Rautakallio trophy, awarded to the best defenceman.
National Hockey League teams took note, with the New Jersey Devils signing him in May 2016. Auvitu played 25 games with the Devils, scoring two goals and four points, along with five goals and 13 points in 29 American Hockey League games. In the off-season, he signed with the Oilers for the 2017-18 season.
Admittedly, I don’t remember much of Auvitu during his tenure with the Oilers. Overall, he scored three goals and nine points in 33 games as the Oilers missed the postseason that year. After the conclusion of the season, Auvitu signed with HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League where he scored two goals and six points in 25 games.
Auvitu played in his sixth nation for the 2019-20 season, signing with the Swedish Hockey League side Luleå HF where he picked up four assists in 18 games. He stuck around in the Nordic countries, re-signing with HIFK Helsinki in 2020-21 where he scored a goal and two points in five games, followed by a six-goal, 25-point season in 46 games in 2021-22.
The defenceman returned to the KHL, signing with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik where he had a goal and three points in 20 games. Auvitu found out about a new country, signing with Genève-Servette Hockey Club of the National League in Sweden. In 17 games, he scored a goal and seven points, playing two postseason games as they won the league’s title.
Looking at Auvitu’s career on a map is crazy, to say the least. His final team, at least as of now, is HC Vítkovice Ridera in Czechia. In 2023-24, he scored four goals and 16 points in 35 games, along with a goal and an assist in three postseason games. Auvitu currently plays for them, where he has a goal and nine points in 29 games.
It’s been a wild career for the defenceman. Perhaps he could play in the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League next to really say he’s done it all. His National Hockey League tenure was brief, but he performed well with the 2017-18 Oilers.
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