Maxim Noreau (born May 24, 1987) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

currently playing for

SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers The SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland, and are members of the National League. History The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club change ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL). He has formerly played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

Playing career

On May 22, 2008, Noreau was signed as a free agent to a three-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild. He spent most of the 2009–10 season with the Houston Aeros of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. He posted 52 points in 76 games to earn selection in the AHL Second All-Star Team. Noreau also made his

debut on April 8, 2010, with the

. Following the conclusion of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Noreau was traded from the Wild to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

for

David McIntyre David John McIntyre (born February 4, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career As a youth, McIntyre played in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey T ...

on June 16, 2011. With his rights owned by the Devils on August 1, 2011, Noreau signed a one-year European deal with

HC Ambri-Piotta HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc * ...

of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

. In his first season with Piotta in 2011–12, Noreau led the defense and scored 30 points in 44 games. As a result, he was selected to the NLA All-Star Team and was re-signed to a three-year contract extension on November 6, 2011. In the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, despite missing out on the post-season for the second consecutive season, he was again the offensive presence from the blueline for Piotta, contributing with 10 goals and 35 assists to lead the league in defensive scoring. Noreau posted 102 points in 146 games over three seasons before he was released from the final year of his contract with Ambri-Piotta to sign a two-year, one-way contract with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

on July 7, 2014. He spent the entirety of his contract within the Avalanche's AHL affiliates. During the 2014–15 season with the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

, he was leading defensemen with 30 points in 39 games before he suffered a season-ending injury. In the following season, Noreau was reassigned to new AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

, again leading the blueline in scoring, placing second overall among the Rampage with 45 points in 64 games. In April 2016, unable to further his NHL career, Noreau put pen to paper on a two-year deal to return to Switzerland with

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rin ...

of the NLA On March 1, 2018, Noreau agreed to a two-year contract with rival NL club, the

ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the ...

, worth CHF 1.8 million, starting from the 2018–19 season.

International play

In December 2016, he won his second

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...

with

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

and was named to the tournament's all-star team. One year later, he captained Canada to another victory at the Spengler Cup. In January 2022, Noreau was selected to play for

at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

, marking his second consecutive Olympic appearance.

Personal

His younger brother, Samuel Noreau, is a professional hockey player currently with the

Missouri Mavericks Missouri (''see pronunciation'') is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, a ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

; he was formerly a prospect within the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

organization.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noreau, Maxim 1987 births Living people HC Ambrì-Piotta players SC Bern players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Montreal Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Lake Erie Monsters players Minnesota Wild players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in ice hockey SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players San Antonio Rampage players Texas Wildcatters players Undrafted National Hockey League players Victoriaville Tigres players ZSC Lions players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland 21st-century Canadian sportsmen