Summer Spotlight: Alexandre Texier

Number: 42
Birth date: Sept. 13, 1999 (age 22)
Birthplace:Grenoble, France
Height, Weight:6-1, 186
Stats:36 GP, 11-9-20
Contract:Signed through 2022-23 season (One year remaining before RFA status)

Through his first two full NHL seasons, Alexandre Texier clearly had offensive talent that was waiting to bloom. In 2021-22, it finally bloomed for the French forward who was a second-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Texier took off in the first half of the season, playing off the speed and tenacity of a line with Eric Robinson and Sean Kuraly to start posting impressive offensive numbers. During a 22-game stretch from Nov. 6 through Jan. 13, Texier had a 9-9-18 line and started to move his way up the CBJ lineup.
But his season would end shortly after that. Texier suffered a fractured finger in the Jan. 26 game vs. Calgary and was expected to be out for a month, but he ended up taking a leave of absence for personal matters and did not return to the ice.
Speaking July 23, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he does expect Texier -- who played for France at the World Championships this summer -- to be ready to join the team for training camp.
"I do," Kekalainen said. "He was probably our best forward at the time when he took the leave of absence, and we have been in contact with him regularly and constantly and we hope that he's back and feeling good and taking another step in his career. I thought he took a huge step last year and played great, so that's what we expect from him next year."

Top Moment of 2021-22

Many people would go with the return of the firepoker move for a shootout winner Dec. 30 vs. Nashville, but equally impressive (if not more so) was his shorthanded goal Nov. 20 in Vegas. Texier skated onto a pass from Jake Bean as he entered the offensive zone along the right-wing boards and didn't seem like he had much to work with, but the Frenchman deked the puck through his legs, quickly cut past defender Mark Stone and fired past goalie Laurent Broissoit for one of the individual efforts of the season.

A Texier Highlight

Stat to Know

Texier earned major minutes on the penalty kill for the first time in his career and was able to use his speed and skill to create offense for the Jackets while shorthanded. The goal against Vegas was Texier's only shorthanded tally of the year, but the Jackets were one of the top offensive teams while shorthanded in the NHL when Texier was on the ice. Of the 326 NHL players to have at least 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, Texier placed fifth in goals per 60 minutes (3.77) and sixth in expected goals per 60 minutes (2.19). In all, the Jackets were outscored just 5-4 when Texier was on the ice on the PK, a goals percentage of 44.4 that was second in the league when shorthanded.

2022-23 Expectations

We certainly hope all is well when it comes to the issues that kept Texier away from the team a season ago, but the biggest question mark going into the year will be how quickly he is able to get back to the NHL level after missing so much of last season. Another question -- after experiencing success on the wing a season ago, will Texier continue to play there, or is an eventual move to center still in the cards? But at the end of the day, this is a player with breakout potential again in 2022-23 before settling into being a two-way standout who figures to be a dependable middle-six forward for years to come.