After being embroiled in controversy two years ago, Bahaman-Canadian forward Andre Deveaux is back playing pro hockey with Sparta Prague, determined to write a better ending to his career. 

by Derek O'Brien

PRAGUE – Nearly two years removed from his last competitive hockey game, he scored a big second period goal, helping Sparta Prague to a shootout win over league-leading Bili Tygri Liberec – the team that beat them in the finals last year – before a large Friday-night home crowd.  

“We got the win, that's the main thing,” shrugged forward Andre Deveaux. “I was pretty nervous during the warm-up and first period, but then the jitters went away and I felt pretty good in the second.”

With his team leading 1-0 in that second period, he was out on the ice with Sparta's top line and scored a big goal to put the team up by two. 

“I just went to the net and (Jaroslav) Hlinka made a great pass right on my tape, and I didn't have to do much,” he described. “The more you watch me play, the more you're gonna understand I'm pretty simple. I just go to the front of the net and work the corners.”

However, Deveaux was not totally happy with his first game back. 

“I thought I made a mistake on our first goal against,” he said of the goal Liberec scored just five minutes after his own. “I thought I should've got the puck out, but that stuff's gonna happen. All in all, I'm pretty happy. In the third period I got a little tired, but that's expected too, so I'm just looking to get better from here.”

After such a long time off, a bit of rust is to be expected. But it begs the question: why now? 

“The short answer is: I didn't want hockey to end the way it did,” the 32-year-old Bahamian-Canadian said. “I've been playing hockey since I was five years old, I've been playing professional hockey 11 or 12 years now, and the way it ended in Sweden was unfair, the way I was treated was unfair, it left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn't want that to be my last memory of hockey.”  

For those unfamiliar, Deveaux was playing for BK Rogle in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish second division, two years ago when he was checked head-first into the boards by VIK Vasteras's Per Helmersson, causing Deveaux to lose consciousness. The next time the teams faced each other, Deveaux went after an unsuspecting Helmersson during the pre-game warm-up. 

Soon afterward, a six-second video of the incident appeared on Youtube, causing outcry in the media, and Rogle to terminate the year remaining on his contract. Haunted by the incident, and still feeling the lingering effects of the original hit by Helmersson, Deveaux didn't feel right about returning to play until now.

“My agent approached me about a couple teams and I said I wasn't really interested, but when Sparta offered, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up,” he said, further explaining: “It's a great city, a historic organization and it's just a feather in my cap to put on that jersey.”

In his first game in that jersey, he seemed happy to have the chance. Besides the goal, he got some other scoring chances as well, and some time on the team's top power-play unit. “For most of my career I've been a pretty good power play guy and I'm happy to get the opportunity here to play with those guys. Hopefully it continues. We didn't score on the power play today, but hopefully we get better next game.

“What I'm most famous for is fighting in the NHL,” he said of his 31-game career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers, which yielded 0 goals, 2 assists and 104 penalty minutes. “That's unfortunate for me, but I scored a lot of goals in the AHL and led teams in scoring. I'm no superstar, but I can help teams, so I'm happy to get the chance here to help this team.”

Looking ahead on the schedule, Sparta have four more Extraliga games before they head to Sweden for the Champions Hockey League Final against Frolunda Gothenburg. 

“Hopefully I can go there and help the team win,” he said simply. As for any negative reception he may get in Sweden, he said: “I was already horribly mistreated there, so it can't get any worse than it was.” 

But any strain that is present in his voice when he talks about the past in Sweden quickly disappears when he speaks of his new situation in the Czech Republic. 

“It's been really easy,” he said of the adjustment, despite any language barriers. “I'd especially like to thank assistant coach Jiri Veber and (conditioning coach) Martin Itersky. They were working me hard, getting me ready for tonight, and I think a lot of times that stuff goes unnoticed. It's behind-the-scenes stuff, and I really thank them for that. They didn't have to help me in workouts and help me on the ice, but they did, and it doesn't go unappreciated.”