Andy Bezeau

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Andy Bezeau
Born (1970-03-30) March 30, 1970 (age 54)
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Moncton Hawks
Phoenix Roadrunners
Fort Wayne Komets
Michigan K-Wings
Detroit Vipers
Providence Bruins
NHL Draft 231st overall, 1990
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1991–2001

Andy Bezeau (born March 30, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 10 seasons in the minor leagues.

Playing career[edit]

After being drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 11th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Bezeau reported to the Bruins ECHL affiliate in Johnstown. Despite scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 28 games, Bezeau was traded to the Richmond Renegades for future considerations.

Bezeau moved to the Colonial Hockey League for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 and had back to back 18 goal, 240 PIM seasons. He returned to the ECHL for the end of the 1993–94 season as a member of the South Carolina Stingrays. Bezeau only played 36 games with the Stingrays but recorded 20 points. Bezeau also totals 352 penalty minutes, which was the second highest total in the league. Trevor Buchanan, a former Hartford Whalers draft pick, recorded 422 penalty minutes - 70 more than Bezeau - but also played in 29 more games than Bezeau.[1]

After splitting the 1994–95 season with the Brantford Smoke and the Muskegon Fury, Bezeau spent his next four seasons in the IHL. Bezeau recorded a record 590 penalty minutes during the 1995-96 IHL season, 176 more than Las Vegas Thunder forward Sasha Lakovic.

Bezeau was involved with one of the IHL's strangest trades at the start of the 1996–97 season. Bezeau was upset with the Komets and demanded a trade, even going as far as attending training camp with the Michigan K-Wings while still officially being a member of the Komets' roster. Bezeau would officially be traded to the K-Wings for "future considerations", which ended up being two equipment dryers that used to be part of the Phoenix Roadrunners organization. Bezeau played one game with the K-Wings before the trade was officially voided by the league. Bezeau would later be traded to the Detroit Vipers.[2]

Bezeau started the 1999–2000 season as a training camp invite to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he was released and assigned to the Detroit Vipers.[3] Bezeau was released from the Vipers in January 2000 and signed with the London Knights of the Ice Hockey Superleague.

Bezeau played one game with the Providence Bruins and retired in 2001. He retired from the IHL with the 19th highest PIM total in league history despite only playing six seasons in the league. In his ten league career, Bezeau accumulated 3477 penalty minutes, which is 18th highest in minor league history.

Personal[edit]

Since his retirement in 2001, Bezeau has been involved in several hockey training schools. He is a certified power skating instructor with Skate Canada.

Bezeau has also formed his own company, AllPro/ExpressHockey Inc., which also offers clinics on advanced skating techniques.[4]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1989–90 Niagara Falls Thunder OHL 60 20 19 39 206 16 6 9 15 73
1990–91 Niagara Falls Thunder OHL 24 12 12 24 95 14 4 11 15 54
1991–92 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL 28 11 10 21 142
1991–92 Richmond Renegades ECHL 12 1 1 2 71
1992–93 Brantford Smoke CoHL 38 18 13 31 278 14 2 4 6 132
1992–93 Moncton Hawks AHL 2 0 0 0 4
1993–94 Brantford Smoke CoHL 22 18 16 34 240
1993–94 St. Thomas Wildcats CoHL 1 2 0 2 12
1993–94 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 36 10 10 20 352 2 0 0 0 23
1994–95 Brantford Smoke CoHL 17 8 10 18 185
1994–95 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 6 0 0 0 23
1994–95 Muskegon Fury CoHL 46 14 17 31 357 17 9 7 16 88
1994–95 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 3 0 1 1 26
1995–96 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 74 10 11 21 590 5 0 2 2 28
1996–97 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 45 4 5 9 320
1997–98 Muskegon Fury UHL 17 7 9 16 100
1997–98 Michigan K-Wings IHL 1 0 1 1 4
1997–98 Detroit Vipers IHL 54 9 10 19 309 19 2 1 3 95
1998–99 Detroit Vipers IHL 44 2 7 9 308 8 2 1 3 31
1999–00 Detroit Vipers IHL 19 2 1 3 148
1999–00 London Knights BISL 11 1 5 6 44 8 2 2 4 29
2000–01 Providence Bruins AHL 1 0 0 0 8
IHL totals 246 27 36 63 1728 32 4 4 8 154

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1993-94 ECHL League Leaders". Hockeydb.com. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  2. ^ Sebring, Blake (2007). Tales Of The Komets. Bloomington, Indiana: Rooftop Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-60008-038-8.
  3. ^ "NHL transactions - September 1999". USA Today. 1999-09-30. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  4. ^ "Express Hockey Inc. Homepage". expresshockey. 2009-01-03. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2009-01-03.

External links[edit]