David-Alexandre Beauregard

David-Alexandre Beauregard (born January 28, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, currently playing for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Beauregard has had a remarkable 14-year professional career in the minor leagues.
==Early years==
From a very young age Beauregard had been a scorer. When he was seven years old, he scored 230 goals in 43 games. As a junior playing in the QMJHL Beauregard scored 224 points in 190 games; however in his draft year he was only 5 feet 10 inches and weighed 165 pounds - too small to be selected early in the NHL draft. Despite his size, the San Jose Sharks had shown an interest Beauregard and, on June 28, 1994, the Sharks selected him in the 11th round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 271st overall.
After being drafted, Beauregard returned to the St. Hyacinthe Lasers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to continue his development. Beauregard believed that his NHL dream was on track, but tragedy struck on October 16, 1994, while playing in a game against the Granby Bisons, Beauregard lost all sight in his left eye after the high stick of Xavier Delisle managed to find the gap in the visor he was wearing. Remarkably, despite this, he still scored on the breakaway. 
Because the NHL prohibits anyone who is blind in one eye from signing a contract, Beauregard's NHL dream was over and he was advised to retire from hockey. Refusing to give up the sport he loved, Beauregard made his return to major junior hockey several months later. He has since said “I was one of the worst players on the ice. I’d lost my depth perception and it took me two months to get some sense of where the puck was.”
Despite his poor self-perception, after returning to the Lasers he appeared in another 22 games during the 1994-95 season, scoring points in 12 of them to help the Lasers into the post-season. In the playoffs he scored another four points in five games, and that year he was awarded the organisation's "Humanitarian of the Year" award.
Beauregard continued his junior hockey career in the 1995-96 season with the Moncton Alpines before switching mid-season to the Hull Olympiques. Again he would display his productivity, with the injury to his eye proving little obstruction to his natural goal scoring ability. Between the two teams, he would total 73 points in just over 50 games. He made the post season with the Olympiques where he scored 7 goals and 9 assists in 18 playoff games. 
He started his last season of junior eligibility with the Olympiques, but again switched mid-season, this time to join the Shawinigan Cataractes. During this 1996-97 season he was able to secure a five-game tryout with the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the AHL. Given only limited ice time, the 21-year-old made the most of it by scoring three points. However with no shots on goal, it was not enough to convince the AHL team to give a professional contract to a player with just one eye. At the end of the 1996-97 season, his junior career was over and the Sharks had by now dropped him from their protected list - but Beauregard continued to pursue a professional career in hockey.
==Professional career==
For the 1997-98 season he signed a contract with the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League. Several times during this season he was called up to the Kansas City Blades of the higher-level International Hockey League where he played in 15 games, but for most of the season he remained with the Thunder where he sored 42 goals and 29 assist for 71 points and the CHL Rookie of the Year award. 
Beauregard’s stint with the Blades marked the end of his playing time in the higher minor leagues, but he has never given up on professional hockey. Bouncing around the minor leagues for the next several years, Beauregard skated in the UHL with the Muskegon Fury and Flint Generals during the 1998-99 season; and in the ECHL with the Greensboro Generals and the Charlotte Checkers during the 1999-2000 season. In the 2000-01 season he returned to the UHL, where he played two seasons with the Port Huron Border Cats, before joining the Fort Wayne Komets for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. It was during 2003-04 season that Beauregard even made a brief return to his native Quebec where he played 18 games in the short lived QSMHL with the Saint-Jean Mission.
For the 2004-05 season, Beauregard continued his tour of the UHL, icing for the Port Huron Beacons until the end of the season (when after failing to make the play offs they would move to become the Roanoke Valley Vipers). Beauregard made another brief return to Quebec with the Sorel-Tracy Mission, suiting up just once during the 2004-05 season before following the Beacons' franchise to Roanoake for the 2005-06 season. Beauregard, now a veteran with ten years of professional experience, was the only member of the Vipers to have been selected in the NHL draft. Beauregard’s successful season with the Vipers, with 76 points in 56 games, led to a late season move to the Danbury Trashers organisation where Beauregard starred in the post-season with 23 points in 18 games. 
Beauregard left the Trashers in the summer of 2006 following the fraud scandal which enveloped the organisation. He then spent the next two seasons back in the Central Hockey League with his old team the Tulsa Oilers. During the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons he was a regular scorer with the Oilers, although not as prolific as his 50 goals seasons in the UHL. 
For the 2008-09 season Beauregard moved into European hockey with the Manchester Phoenix. Beauregard was paired on a line with player-coach Tony Hand, regarded as the greatest British ice hockey player of all time. A career season would follow for Beauregard, and he would amass 107 points in 68 games, a remarkable achievement. Beauregard was regarded by many Phoenix fans as the greatest player ever to wear the shirt and this was recognised by countless post-season awards, including the EIHL's Player of the Season, as well as being selected to the All-Star First Team. Beauregard's play would be a major factor into propelling the Phoenix into both domestic cup finals as well as the post-season. Despite the on-ice success in Manchester, financial problems dogged the Phoenix and in the summer of 2009 the organisation announced that for the 2009-10 season it would ice in the EPL and operate on a much smaller budget. Consequently Beauregard, as well as much of the senior squad, was released.
For the 2009-10 season Beauregard (along with Manchester Phoenix teammate Kenton Smith) travelled to Itally to joined the HC Valpellice Bulldogs to play Serie A hockey, but before the season was done he was once again back in the CHL with the Tulsa Oilers. 
For the 2010-11 season, Beauregard has returned to the UK, signing to ice for the Challenge Cup champions of the EIHL - the Nottingham Panthers.
==The future==
Beauregard has played 14 seasons (and counting) of professional hockey because he was realistic about his hockey career. He knew early on that playing in the NHL was out of the question, but that did not stop him. In a 2005 interview he remarked “I still play because I still love to play. I get up in the morning and I can’t wait to go to practice. The pay is pretty good, and it’s a fine game. I’ll play as long as I can.”
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==Awards==
*1994-95: Humanitarian of the Year (St. Hyacinthe Lasers)
*1997-98: CHL Rookie of the Year
*2008-09: EIHL's Player of the Season
*2008-09: First Team All-Star (EIHL)
== Career statistics ==
  	  	  	 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	 	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1993–94 	Saint-Hyacinthe Laser 	QMJHL 	 	59 	21 	35 	56 	23 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1994–95 	Saint-Hyacinthe Laser 	QMJHL 	 	37 	24 	16 	40 	22 	 	5 	1 	3 	4 	0
1995–96 	Moncton Alpines 	QMJHL 	 	41 	34 	27 	61 	54 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1995–96 	Hull Olympiques 	QMJHL 	 	15 	6 	6 	12 	2 	 	18 	7 	9 	16 	8
1996–97 	Hull Olympiques 	QMJHL 	 	17 	14 	6 	20 	8 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1996–97 	Shawinigan Cataractes 	QMJHL 	 	21 	13 	22 	35 	24 	 	7 	3 	4 	7 	12
1996–97 	Kentucky Thoroughblades	AHL 	 	5 	0 	3 	3 	0 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1997–98 	Kansas City Blades 	IHL 	 	15 	2 	2 	4 	6 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1997–98 	Wichita Thunder 	CHL 	 	57 	42 	29 	71 	86 	 	13 	3 	5 	8 	31
1998–99 	Muskegon Fury 	UHL 	 	54 	31 	24 	55 	30 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1998–99 	Flint Generals 	UHL 	 	18 	18 	8 	26 	10 	 	12 	5 	3 	8 	31
1999–00 	Greensboro Generals 	ECHL 	 	17 	9 	7 	16 	26 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1999–00 	Charlotte Checkers 	ECHL 	 	53 	20 	20 	40 	22 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2000–01 	Port Huron Border Cats 	UHL 	 	56 	33 	30 	63 	31 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2001–02 	Port Huron Border Cats 	UHL 	 	69 	50 	35 	85 	44 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2002–03 	Fort Wayne Komets 	UHL 	 	75 	30 	17 	47 	46 	 	12 	4 	5 	9 	2
2003–04 	Saint-Jean Mission 	QSMHL 	 	18 	17 	14 	31 	10 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2003–04 	Fort Wayne Komets 	UHL 	 	57 	39 	30 	69 	48 	 	7 	1 	1 	2 	0
2004–05 	Port Huron Beacons 	UHL 	 	66 	47 	29 	76 	57 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2004–05 	Sorel-Tracy Mission 	LNAH 	 	1 	2 	1 	3 	0 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2005–06 	Roanoke Valley Vipers 	UHL 	 	56 	33 	43 	76 	69 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2005–06 	Danbury Trashers 	UHL 	 	14 	8 	9 	17 	6 	 	18 	12 	11 	23 	12
2006–07 	Tulsa Oilers 	CHL 	 	64 	39 	32 	71 	50 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2007–08 	Tulsa Oilers 	CHL 	 	63 	35 	36 	71 	40 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2008–09 	Manchester Phoenix 	EIHL 	 	54 	44 	35 	79 	30 	 	2 	1 	1 	2 	2
2009–10 	HC Valpellice Bulldogs 	ITL 	 	24 	6 	15 	21 	20 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2009–10 	Tulsa Oilers 	CHL 	 	16 	3 	3 	6 	8 	 	— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2010–11 	Nottingham Panthers 	EIHL 	 	62 	29 	33 	62 	64 	 	4 	5 	2 	7 	4
Professional totals	Professional totals 	Professional totals	 	911 	540 	452 	992 	703 	 	68 	31 	28 	59 	63
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Born in 1976
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players
Category:Danbury Trashers players
Category:Flint Generals players
Category:Fort Wayne Komets players
Category:Greensboro Generals (ECHL) players
Category:Hull Olympiques alumni
Category:Idaho Steelheads players
Category:Kansas City Blades players
Category:Kentucky Thoroughblades players
Category:Manchester Phoenix players
Category:Moncton Alpines alumni
Category:Muskegon Fury players
Category:Nottingham Panthers players
Category:Port Huron Border Cats players
Category:Roanoke Valley Vipers players
Category:Saint-Hyacinthe Laser alumni
Category:San Jose Sharks draft picks
Category:Shawinigan Cataractes alumni
Category:Tulsa Oilers (CHL) players
Category:Wichita Thunder players