Devon Levi

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Devon Levi
Born (2001-12-27) December 27, 2001 (age 20)
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NCAA team Northeastern Huskies
NHL Draft 212th overall, 2020
Florida Panthers
Playing career TBD–present

Devon Levi (born December 27, 2001) is a Canadian collegiate ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Northeastern University Huskies, as a prospect for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Levi was the MVP at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge. He was then the 2019–20 Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) MVP and Top Goalie, and the 2019–20 Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) MVP and Top Goaltender. He was drafted 212th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and in 2021 his rights were traded to the Buffalo Sabres.

He played for the Canadian national junior ice hockey team at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The team won the silver medal, and Levi ended the tournament with a .964 save percentage (SV%) (topping the all-time record established by Carey Price in 2007). He was named the Best Goaltender of the tournament, and to the tournament All Star Team.

Early life[]

Levi is from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, a Montreal suburb.[1] His father Laurent Levi is a software engineer, and his mother Eta Yacowar Levi is an office administrator at the software company they are building.[2][3] He has a younger brother, James.[4][5] While Levi's first language is English, he also speaks French.[6]

Levi, who is Jewish, attended Hebrew Foundation School.[7] He then attended West Island College (2019), where he was a valedictorian.[7][8] He took online courses from Athabasca University.[9]

Playing career[]

Levi began by playing street hockey with his father, and until he was 11 years old, his only experience in goal was on concrete.[8]

Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League[]

Levi played youth hockey for the Lac St-Louis Lions of the under-18 Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League in the Quebec Junior Hockey League (QMAAA) in 2016-19, beginning as their youngest player in his first season at 14 years of age.[6][5][10] In 2018 he won the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) Governor's Award for Student Athlete of the Year, and the Daniel Briere Award for Best Hockey and Academic Achievement.[6] In 2018 and 2019 he was chosen for the MAAA First All Star Team, and he was a two-time recipient of the Federation of Athletic Excellence of Quebec (FAEQ)/Montreal Canadiens' Foundation Award and Scholarship for Athletic and Academic Excellence (bursaries of $1,500).[6][11]

In 2019, he set the record for most saves ever in a 60-minute Quebec Midget AA game, in a game in which he made 64 saves on 65 shots.[12] In 2019 he also received the MAAA Ken Dryden Trophy as Best Goalie Prospect in the League, and was awarded the Patrick Roy Trophy as the best defensive player in the playoffs.[6] He holds the league record for career shutouts, with eight.[13]

Central Canada Hockey League[]

Levi began his junior career in the Ottawa, Ontario, area with the Carleton Place Canadians in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), a Junior A league, during the 2019–20 season.[8][14] For the season, he had a .941 save percentage (SV%), and a 1.47 goals against average (GAA), with 8 shutouts (in 37 games), all leading the league.[2][15][8][16]

He was named the 2019–20 Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Player of the Year, CJHL MVP, CJHL Top Rookie, and CJL Top Goalie.[8] He was also named the 2019–20 CCHL MVP, CCHL Top Goaltender, CCHL Rookie of the Year, CCHL Top Prospect, and a CCHL First Team All Star.[8][17][18][19] Canadians' head coach Jason Clarke said: "If there is anyone who is going to take the NCAA by storm next year and really do some special things, I’d bet my mortgage on Devon Levi."[20]

Draft and college[]

He was drafted 212th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. On July 24, 2021, Levi's NHL rights, along with a 2022 first-round pick, were traded by the Panthers to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Sam Reinhart.[21][22]

Levi committed to play in Boston for the NCAA Division I Northeastern University's Huskies men's ice hockey team, starting in the 2020–21 season. However, Levi did not begin his college career until the following season, due to his lingering rib injury.[23][24][25] Levi is majoring in computer science at Northeastern, which he is attending on scholarship.[9][8] He was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team for 2020-21.[4]

He began his NCAA career, playing in the 2021–22 season for Northeastern, with back-to-back shutouts.[25] In November 2021, Levi was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month.[4]

International play[]

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Canada

Levi first attracted the attention of Hockey Canada through his stellar performance at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge, an under-20 tournament.[8] He stopped 77 of 80 shots, led Canada East to a silver medal, and was named tournament MVP.[26][27]

He gained more widespread recognition during the 2021 IIHF U20 World Juniors Championship due to his outstanding play for the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team, helping them win the silver medal.[28][29] Levi ended the tournament with a .964 SV% (topping the all-time record established by Carey Price in 2007) and a 0.75 GAA, both being the best in the tournament.[30][31] He became the second goaltender ever to record three shutouts in the tournament.[32] He was named the Best Goaltender of the tournament by the IIHF Directorate, and named to the tournament All-Star Team.[33][34] After the World Juniors, Levi revealed that he had played the entire tournament with a fractured rib, after sustaining the injury against the German team in the opening game.[35][36]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2016–17 Lac St-Louis Lions QMAAA 23 11 10 0 — — 5 2.69 .925 4 1 3 — — 0 3.53 .877
2017–18 Lac St-Louis Lions QMAAA 26 14 11 0 — — 1 2.98 .927 5 2 3 — — 0 2.12 .942
2018–19 Lac St-Louis Lions QMAAA 28 14 13 0 — — 2 3.10 .909 16 9 7 — — 2 2.49 .937
2019–20 Carleton Place Canadians CCHL 37 34 2 1 2209 54 8 1.47 .941 — — — — — — — —
CCHL totals 37 34 2 1 2209 54 8 1.47 .941 — — — — — — — —

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2021 Canada WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 6 1 0 398 5 3 0.75 .964
Junior totals 7 6 1 0 398 5 3 0.75 .964

See also[]

  • List of select Jewish ice hockey players

References[]

  1. ^ Hoppe, Bill (July 27, 2021). "Sabres have unique goalie prospect in Team Canada star Devon Levi". Buffalo Hockey Beat.
  2. ^ a b John Meagher (October 14, 2020). "Dollard's Levi selected by Florida Panthers at NHL draft". Montreal Gazette.
  3. ^ Jim Matheson (December 17, 2020). "Canadian junior goalie Devon Levi grew up idolizing Carey Price in Montreal". Edmonton Sun.
  4. ^ a b c "Devon Levi - Men's Ice Hockey". Northeastern University Athletics.
  5. ^ a b Kathryn Greenaway (February 8, 2017). "Priceless Recognition for Young Netminder". Montreal Gazette.
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Crazy Year of Devon Levi". New in 24 Sport English. September 6, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Cody Levine (January 5, 2021). "Jewish Montrealer Devon Levi represents Canada in WJC as starting goalie". The Jerusalem Post.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lysowski, Lance (September 6, 2021). "How Sabres prospect Devon Levi developed into a record-setting goalie". The Buffalo News.
  9. ^ a b Pat Hickey (May 11, 2020). "Dollard goalie Devon Levi is toast of Junior A hockey; Headed to Northeastern University after earning CJHL most valuable player honour following stellar season with Carleton Place Canadians". Montreal Gazette.
  10. ^ Kathryn Greenaway (February 7, 2017). "Star Midget AAA goalie bears striking resemblance to idol Carey Price; Devon Levi is a 15-year-old goalie with the Lac-St-Louis Midget AAA Lions. He's poised to break the Quebec Midget league record for most shutouts in a season. And he's smart. Last year he won six academic achievement awards at West Island College in Dollard-des-Ormeaux". Montreal Gazette.
  11. ^ John Meagher (February 13, 2019). "Montreal Canadiens award bursaries to local student-athletes". Montreal Gazette.
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ John Meagher (May 8, 2019). "Levi wins Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden trophies at midget AAA gala". Montreal Gazette.
  14. ^ "Devon Levi | CCHL". Central Canada Hockey League. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  15. ^ Spencer Sharkey (May 8, 2020). "Devon Levi Joueur de l'année de la LHJC et Félix Rioux reçoit la Bourse d'études de la famille Nickerson". Hockey Québec.
  16. ^ Jameson Olive (December 11, 2020). "World Juniors: Levi Makes Canada's Roster, Posts Shutout in Scrimmage". NHL.com.
  17. ^ "CJHL Release | Canadians Devon Levi named Most Valuable Player". Central Canada Hockey League. April 30, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "Devon Levi set to start again as Canada takes on Switzerland at World Junior Championship on TSN". TSN. December 29, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  19. ^ "2020 NHL Draft Player Card: Devon Levi". NHL.com.
  20. ^ "A year to remember; From league-leading numbers to international success and a truckload of awards, Devon Levi did it all and did it all well to be named CJHL Player of the Year". Hockey Canada. May 7, 2020.
  21. ^ "Reinhart traded to Panthers by Sabres". National Hockey League. July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "NHL Draft Tracker". NHL.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  23. ^ Davis, Mike (January 5, 2020). "Goaltender Devon Levi Commits to Northeastern". The Northeastern Hockey Blog. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Devon Levi - Men's Ice Hockey". Northeastern University Athletics. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Hoppe, Bill (December 24, 2021). "Sabres goalie prospect Devon Levi off to torrid start at Northeastern". Buffalo Hockey Beat.
  26. ^ Spencer, Donna (December 29, 2020). "Devon Levi an outlier among Canadian junior hockey team goaltenders | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Masters, Mark (January 4, 2021). "Revenge-minded Devon Levi leads Canada into Russia showdown". TSN. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  28. ^ "Devon Levi could set a new World Juniors shutout record in the gold medal game". Bardown. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Devon Levi's rise to World Juniors greatness", TSN, January 5, 2021, retrieved January 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Lance Lysowski (December 5, 2021). "Sabres prospect Devon Levi's hot streak continues with record-setting weekend". The Buffalo News.
  31. ^ "IIHF - Statistics 2021 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  32. ^ Chouinard, Kyle (February 16, 2021). "How Devon Levi Excelled at the World Junior Championship". Drive4Five.
  33. ^ Lucas Aykroyd (January 5, 2021). "IIHF - Zegras named MVP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  34. ^ "Trevor Zegras wins World Juniors MVP, Canada's Devon Levi top goalie". TSN. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  35. ^ "Devon Levi reveals he played entire WJC with injury". TSN. January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  36. ^ "2021 World Junior Championship Goaltenders" (PDF). IIHF. January 5, 2021.

External links[]

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