Antoine Roussel is a fairly direct type. Not the type to beat around the bush to find out which path to take. So when the Coronavirus pandemic severely defeated the NHL to the point of suspending the season, the 29-year-old winger and his wife, awaiting their third child, quickly analyzed the situation. Immobilized in British Columbia, the Roussel clan embarked on a family epic across Canada to find Quebec, a 5,500 km road trip, three and a half days on the road “and more than 55 hours of driving, sure that we saw the country smiles Antoine. At the beginning, I sold that to my children by telling them that we were going to take a trip to a rolling house. We were all the four of us lived in quarantine with very little contact. We stopped in rest areas. We crossed British Columbia, Alberta, fantastic landscapes. I’m glad I did that once in my life. It was beautiful. ”
On all the arenas of the national league, Antoine Roussel is not the type to make detours. He’s a straight line follower, ready to shake up anything that gets in the way, without fear of intimidation. In the NHL, he is known as an agitator. A guy who knew how to make his place in this rough and inhospitable league for French cousins. Often by falling off the gloves, to establish themselves, to be respected, to make room for themselves. It was this guy who found himself driving the family van for a few moments of grace: “One day, we stopped to skate on Lake Louise. I took my little boy of three and a half and we were together to live this rare and unique moment” he remembers. And here is the whole Roussel family, very tired but rich in all these images arriving in the Saguenay, two hours drive north of Quebec City.
Antoine and the maple grove
Quebec is somewhat the second homeland of Antoine Roussel. At the age of 16, after his parents moved to the beautiful province, Antoine learned – the hard way – the culture of hockey. In France, he had sailed from Deuil La Barre to Nantes to settle in Rouen among the best French of his generation. Across the Atlantic, the shock was severe but formative. And Antoine founded his family there, with his wife from Saguenay and imagined his life after the NHL: “I bought part of my stepfather’s sugar bush, he says, and, with the suspension of the season, I didn’t mind rolling up my sleeves. I put my hands in grease. I’m interested in production. This year, we should have a great syrup. And then, as I already drove well across Canada, I continue and I make deliveries around Lac Saint Jean . It’s a bit like on the ice, you have to fight to make your place and I like that. “
And so here is Antoine the adventurer who replaced New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto or Montreal, strongholds of the NHL by towns that are much less known but much more important for Sucre d’Or, (the name of the sugar bush ‘Antoine and his associated father). Now his daily life flirts with exoticism a bit outdated and you have to convince in St Edwige, Lac Bouchette or Anse St Jean to sell the syrup of Golden Sugar: “I have a good product so it’s going to laugh Antoine. It is won for nobody, the attitude makes the difference. In fact, I realize that there are common points between the entrepreneur and the sportsman. you need a little talent but the most important thing is the head. You have to have the will to win, to win. “ Thus, in this period of confinement, Antoine Roussel is preparing the next life, the longest, that which will succeed the adventure of the NHL, which he had finally managed to win in 2012 in the jerseys of the Dallas Stars. Today, Antoine Roussel has established himself in this demanding, uncompromising league. With nearly 520 games on the clock, he is the French hockey player who has played the most professional games in North America and he intends to go a long way.
The NHL may be in July …
If there is one word that symbolizes Antoine Roussel, it is undoubtedly commitment. All his life, he struggled to win. Never the most gifted – he has never been drafted – he has always succeeded a little more than expected. Like this February 1, 2013, when for his debut in the NHL, he scored – from the back – from his first launch, like Mario “The magnificent” Lemieux. “The comparison ends there”cut, careful Antoine Roussel. Still, the native of Roubaix has established himself as a good player in the NHL. A guy we like to have in the locker room. It was undoubtedly the feeling of the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks when he recruited Antoine – four years of contract for 13 million dollars – in 2018. After a satisfactory first year – 31 points in 65 games -, Antoine had to put the thumbs up. A load in New York, nine months off and a knee to rebuild … And – again – the mind of Antoine wins with two goals for his return against the Buffalo Sabers last December: “I scored on my first presence and it took a ton of bricks out of my head,” recalls Antoine. “I produced well for the first month, then I had a more difficult passage. the beast when the season ended. Too bad because with the Canucks, we have a very good alignment. I am not saying that we would have won the Stanley Cup but honestly, we have our chances. ”
The present is essential because Antoine – beyond the Golden Sugar – really has the ambition to get back on the ice, as soon as possible and in compliance with health rules: “I am hopeful that the season can resume on July 1. It would be summer hockey. I really want to play again with the Canucks. Playing in the summer would keep the NHL from falling apart competing with the NFL “ specifies French. Meanwhile, Antoine talks quietly, on the sidelines of his deliveries for Golden Sugar. And he welcomed with greed the postponement of the Olympic qualification tournament for Beijing in August 2021: “It is a very, very good decision. For me, the Olympics is a childhood dream. I am well aware that I have less hockey in front of me than I have behind,” he said. If I can help with the qualification, I will be there. If we qualify and I cannot compete in the Olympic Games, another Frenchman will be proud to represent the country at the Olympic Games. In both cases, I will have the feeling of duty accomplished. “ To date, the NHL has not yet decided whether it will participate in the 2022 Olympic Games. Until then, Antoine has a few boxes of maple syrup to deliver, play-offs to play more than to watch for , at the end of the trip, try to win the grail of all hockey players, the Stanley Cup … Traveling, Antoine Roussel knows well and as he has become accustomed to doing a little more than what is expected from him, everything is possible !!!
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