Aaron Downey

Aaron Downey
Date of birth	August 27, 1974
place of birth	Shelburne , Ontario , Canada
Nickname	diesel
size	185 cm
Weight	98 kg
position	Right wing
number	# 44
Shot hand	Right
Career stations
1992-1993	Guelph Storm
1993-1995	Cole Harbor Red Wings
1995-1997	Hampton Roads Admirals
1997-2000	Providence Bruins
2000-2002	Chicago Blackhawks
2000-2002	Norfolk Admirals
2002-2004	Dallas Stars
2005-2006	St. Louis Blues
2006-2007	Montréal Canadiens
2007	Providence Bruins
2007-2009	Detroit Red Wings

Aaron Douglas Downey (born August 27, 1974 in Shelburne , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey striker , who was last active with the Detroit Red Wings from the National Hockey League .

Career

Downey began his career in lower class junior leagues in the Canadian province of Ontario before he was committed in 1992 by the Guelph Storm from the Ontario Hockey League . He quickly made a name for himself through his tough game and the fact that he did not shy away from fist fights. In 1993 he moved to the Nova Scotia Major Hockey League for the Cole Harbor Red Wings , where he played for two years.

Downey in the jersey of the Detroit Red Wings

For the 1995/96 season he received his first major professional contract with the Hampton Roads Admirals from the East Coast Hockey League , was able to establish himself in the team and was even named team captain. In 1997, the Providence Bruins signed him from the AHL , the farm team of the NHL team Boston Bruins . Downey showed a solid point yield for a defensive striker, but stood out for the fact that he received a total of 808 penalty minutes in his first two seasons in Providence. He also won the Calder Cup with them in 1999. During the 1999/2000 season he finally made his debut in the NHL for Boston, but he was only used once and spent the rest of the time in the AHL.

After his contract with the Bruins had expired in the summer, the Chicago Blackhawks signed him, which in the first season let him play almost exclusively in the AHL. In the 2001/02 season he was able to hold longer in the NHL roster of the Blackhawks and played 36 games for Chicago, in which he also scored his first NHL goal.

In the summer of 2002, Downey signed a contract with the Dallas Stars and was part of the NHL squad permanently for the next two years, but was only used in a maximum of half of the games. In 2005/06 he first played for the St. Louis Blues , but they put him on the waiver list in January 2006 , from where the Montréal Canadiens signed him . It was Downey's most successful year in his NHL career with three goals and four assists .

He stayed in Montréal for another year before he was sent to the Canadiens' AHL farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs , in the spring , which eventually gave him to the Providence Bruins, where he played until the end of the 2006/07 season. When his contract was not renewed in the summer of 2007, he received an invitation to the Detroit Red Wings training camp , where he could recommend himself for a one-year contract. Downey was in the NHL squad for the entire season and played 56 games. In the playoffs, when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup , he was not used.

In August 2008, Downey signed a new one-year contract in Detroit, which left the Red Wings the option to send Downey to the farm team, the Grand Rapids Griffins , in the AHL. This finally happened at the beginning of the 2008/09 season when he could not recommend himself for a place in the NHL squad. Except for four missions for Detroit, he played the entire season in the AHL.

After his contract was not renewed in Detroit in the summer of 2009, he received a trial contract with the Phoenix Coyotes .

Above all, Downey stands out for his physically tough game and acts in the role of the enforcer .

Achievements and Awards

Aaron Downey with the Stanley Cup

• 1999 Calder Cup win with the Providence Bruins
• 2008 Stanley Cup win with the Detroit Red Wings

Career statistics

				Regular season						Play-offs
season	team	league		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM
1992-93	Guelph Storm	OHL		53	3	3	6th	88		5	1	0	1	0
1993-94	Cole Harbor Red Wings	NSMHL		35	8th	20th	28	210		-	-	-	-	-
1994-95	Cole Harbor Red Wings	NSMHL		40	10	31	41	320		-	-	-	-	-
1995-96	Hampton Roads Admirals	ECHL		65	12	11	23	354		-	-	-	-	-
1996-97	Hampton Roads Admirals	ECHL		64	8th	8th	16	338		9	0	3	3	26th
	Portland Pirates	AHL		3	0	0	0	19th		-	-	-	-	-
	Manitoba mosses	IHL		2	0	0	0	17th		-	-	-	-	-
1997-98	Providence Bruins	AHL		78	5	10	15th	407		-	-	-	-	-
1998-99	Providence Bruins	AHL		75	10	12	22nd	401		19th	1	1	2	46
1999-00	Providence Bruins	AHL		47	6th	4th	10	221		14th	1	0	1	24
	Boston Bruins	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
2000-01	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		67	6th	15th	21st	234		9	0	0	0	4th
	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		3	0	0	0	6th		-	-	-	-	-
2001-02	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		36	1	0	1	76		4th	0	0	0	8th
	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		12	0	2	2	21st		-	-	-	-	-
2002-03	Dallas Stars	NHL		43	1	1	2	69		-	-	-	-	-
2003-04	Dallas Stars	NHL		37	1	1	2	77		-	-	-	-	-
2005-06	St. Louis Blues	NHL		17th	2	0	2	45		-	-	-	-	-
	Montréal Canadiens	NHL		25th	1	4th	5	50		1	0	0	0	0
2006-07	Montréal Canadiens	NHL		21st	1	0	1	48		-	-	-	-	-
	Providence Bruins	AHL		15th	0	0	0	30th		1	0	0	0	12
2007-08	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		56	0	3	3	116		-	-	-	-	-
2008-09	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		65	2	7th	9	126		10	0	1	1	44
	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		4th	1	1	2	7th		-	-	-	-	-
OHL total				53	3	3	6th	88		5	1	0	1	0
NSMHL total				75	18th	51	69	530		0	0	0	0	0
ECHL total				129	20th	19th	39	692		9	0	3	3	26th
AHL total				362	29	50	79	1459		53	2	2	4th	130
IHL total				2	0	0	0	17th		0	0	0	0	0
NHL overall				243	8th	10	18th	494		5	0	0	0	8th

Web links

• Aaron Downey at hockeydb.com (English)
• Aaron Downey at legendsofhockey.net (English)