Stéphane Da Costa

Stéphane Da Costa
Da Costa in 2013
Born	11 July 1989 Paris, France
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Right
KHL team Former teams	CSKA Moscow Ottawa Senators
National team	France
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2011–present

Stéphane Da Costa (born 11 July 1989) is a French-Polish professional ice hockey player currently playing for CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Born in France, Da Costa moved to the United States as a junior to develop as a player. After junior, Da Costa moved on to NCAA collegiate hockey, playing two seasons with Merrimack College. He then signed as a free agent with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators in 2011, and played three seasons in the organization, including 47 games with Ottawa. In 2014, he left the organization as a free agent, signing with CSKA Moscow.

Playing career

Amateur

Da Costa moved from his native country of France to the U.S. to play junior hockey for the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) at the age of 17, not yet able to speak English fluently.^[1] With the Tornado in 2006–07, Da Costa had 23 goals and 40 points in 50 games, tied for third in team scoring.

Da Costa then transitioned to the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2007–08, joining the Sioux City Musketeers. In his first season with the team, Da Costa had 12 goals and 37 points in 51 games, helping the team qualify for the playoffs. In four post-season games, Da Costa had a goal and three points.

He returned to the USHL's Musketeers for a second season in 2008–09, leading the team in scoring with 31 goals and 67 points in 48 games. Sioux City, however, failed to qualify for the post-season.

Da Costa joined the Merrimack College Warriors of the NCAA's Hockey East conference in North Andover, Massachusetts, for the 2009–10 season. In his second game of his freshman season, Da Costa scored five goals against the United States Military Academy team. He finished the season with 16 goals and 45 points in 34 games. After the season, Da Costa won the National Rookie of the Year, USCHO Rookie of the Year, Inside College Hockey Rookie of the Year, College Hockey News Rookie of the Year and Hockey East Rookie of the Year honours.^[2][3]

After receiving numerous offers from NHL teams to sign as a free agent, Da Costa opted to return to Merrimack for a second season in 2010–11. He once again led the team in scoring with 14 goals and 45 points in 33 games, missing multiple games in February due to a knee injury.^[4]

Professional

On 30 March 2011, Da Costa signed as an undrafted free agent with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. He made his NHL debut in the 2010–11 season, appearing in four games with the Senators and registering no points. His first NHL game was on 2 April 2011, against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Da Costa became just the sixth player born in France to play in the NHL, joining Cristobal Huet, Philippe Bozon, Pat Daley, Paul MacLean and André Peloffy, and the third French-born and -trained NHL player (along with Bozon and Huet and before Antoine Roussel).^[5][6]

After an impressive training camp to start the 2011–12 season, Da Costa made the Senators' opening night roster and joined the team for their first game. He registered his first NHL point on 8 October in his second game of the season, a goal in a 6–5 loss to the Maple Leafs against goaltender James Reimer.^[7] After scoring three goals and five points in 22 games in Ottawa, Da Costa was reassigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, on 27 November 2011. In Binghamton, Da Costa registered 13 goals and 36 points in 46 games, including his first professional hat-trick on 26 December 2011, in an 8–3 Binghamton victory over the Albany Devils.^[8]

On 25 July 2012, the Senators announced that they had re-signed Da Costa to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal would pay $800,000 if he played in Ottawa, and $80,000 if he returned to Binghamton for a second season.^[9] The 2012–13 NHL lockout forced Da Costa to begin the season in Binghamton, where he recorded nine goals and 15 assists in his first 31 games. He was recalled to Ottawa on 3 February 2013, following two-straight losses by the Senators.^[10]

On 12 July 2014, Da Costa left North America and signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.^[11]

International play

Da Costa plays his international hockey with France, and played in his first international tournament at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division I held in Bad Tölz, Germany. In five games with France, Da Costa had five goals and 10 points. France, however, finished with a 1–4–0 record. Da Costa returned for the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships - Division I held in Herisau, Switzerland, scoring four goals and 13 points in five games and helping France to a 3–2–0 tournament record.

Da Costa also played for France at the 2009 IIHF World Championship held in Bern and Kloten, Switzerland, where he had two assists in six games, as France finished in 12th place. Da Costa was once again named to France for the 2010 IIHF World Championship held in Cologne, Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen, Germany, scoring one goal and three points in five games, though France fell to 14th place. In the 2011 IIHF World Championship held in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia, Da Costa was held to just one assist in five games as France finished in 12th place.

Da Costa once again suited up for France at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, scoring a goal and six points in seven games in France's best finish at the Worlds since 1995, ninth place. Da Costa scored the insurance goal for France in a key 4–2 upset of Switzerland.

In the 2014 IIHF World Championship opener for France on 9 May, Da Costa scored two goals in a 3–2 shoot-out victory over Canada, a major upset victory.^[12][13][14] Da Costa would score twice again in France's 6–2 defeat of Denmark, marking the team's first qualification to the World Championship quarter-finals since 1995.^[15]

Personal

A native of Paris, Da Costa is the son of a Portuguese–French father and Polish mother. His two brothers, Teddy and Gabriel, also play hockey, competing in the Finnish Mestis and French Ligue Magnus, respectively.^[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006–07	Texas Tornado	NAHL		50	23	17	40	31		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL		51	12	25	37	22		4	1	2	3	8
2008–09	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL		48	31	36	67	23		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Merrimack College	HE		34	16	29	45	41		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Merrimack College	HE		33	14	31	45	42		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Ottawa Senators	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Ottawa Senators	NHL		22	3	2	5	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Binghamton Senators	AHL		46	13	23	36	12		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Binghamton Senators	AHL		57	13	25	38	26		3	0	1	1	0
2012–13	Ottawa Senators	NHL		9	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Ottawa Senators	NHL		12	3	1	4	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Binghamton Senators	AHL		56	18	40	58	32		4	2	2	4	4
2014–15	CSKA Moscow	KHL		46	30	32	62	12		11	4	4	8	8
2015–16	CSKA Moscow	KHL		24	7	7	14	14		18	7	5	12	6
NHL totals				47	7	4	11	10		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006	France	WJC18-D1		5	3	6	9	2
2008	France	WJC-D1		5	5	5	10	8
2009	France	WJC-D1		5	4	9	13	4
2009	France	WC		6	0	2	2	0
2010	France	WC		5	1	2	3	14
2011	France	WC		5	0	1	1	6
2012	France	WC		7	1	5	6	4
2014	France	WC		8	3	6	9	6
2015	France	WC		4	1	2	3	2
Junior totals				15	12	20	32	14
Senior totals				38	8	18	26	36

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team	2009–10
All-Hockey East Second Team	2009–10
All-Hockey East Second Team	2010–11
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	2010–11

References

1. Merritt, Andrew (2 December 2010). "Getting to Merrimack was biggest hurdle for Da Costa". Hockeyjournal.com. New England Hockey Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
2. USCHO Staff Report (9 April 2010). "Merrimack's Da Costa named Hockey Commissioners' Rookie of the Year". USCHO.com. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
3. "Merrimack's Da Costa named Rookie of the Year". HockeyEastOnline. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
4. "Highly-Touted College Prospect Da Costa Suffers Knee Injury". TSN.ca. TSN.ca staff. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
5. Merk, Martin (1 April 2011). "Senators sign Da Costa". IIHF.com. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
6. "Senators Land Highly-Touted College Free Agent Da Costa". TSN.ca. 31 March 2011.
7. Ryan, Dennis (8 October 2011). "Kessel's hat trick helps Leafs hold off Senators 6-5". nhl.com. National Hockey League.
8. http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=608615 B-Sens Weekly: It's a holiday hat trick for Da Costa
9. Da Costa deal gives Paris native more time to grow http://senators.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=638641
10. Senators recall centre Stephane Da Costa http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2013/02/03/sp-nhl-ottawa-senators-recall-stephane-da-costa.html
11. "Stephane Da Costa joins CSKA" (in Russian). HC CSKA Moscow. 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
12. Hornby, Lance (9 May 2014). "France upsets Canada at world hockey championship". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
13. Whyno, Stephen (9 May 2014). "Canada suffers shocking loss to France at hockey worlds". Globe and Mail. Minsk, Belarus. Canadian Press. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
14. "France defeats Canada in shootout at World Championship". TSN. Canadian Press. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
15. France wins and advances, IIHF

External links

• Stéphane Da Costa's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Stephane Da Costa's statistics at USCHO.com