Martin Lefebvre (born June 23, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for Kunlun Red Star in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Lefebvre has previously played for Porin Ässät of the SM-liiga,[1][2] Krefield Pinguine of the DEL, Aalborg Pirates of the Metal Ligaen and Stavanger Oilers of the Fjordkraftligaen. His achievements in said teams include Danish Championship, Danish Cup Championship, Danish League All-Star Team selection, two Norwegian Championships and Fjordjraftligaen Player of the Year award.[3][1]

Martin Lefebvre
Lefebvre with Porin Ässät in 2023 wearing the top scorer's golden helmet
Born (1992-06-23) June 23, 1992 (age 32)
Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams
Kunlun Red Star
Gwinnett Gladiators
Cincinnati Cyclones
Aalborg Pirates
Krefeld Pinguine
Stavanger Oilers
Porin Ässät
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2017–present

Playing career

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Junior

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During the 2007–08 season Martin Lefebvre played for Crabtree Draveurs in the QMAAA as a 15 year old. Lefebvre put up 5 goals and 13 assists in 44 games. Lefebvre played 3 playoff games with 2 points.[3]

The next season Lefebvre continued to represent the Collège Esther-Blondin Draveurs in the QMAA. Lefebvre put up 30 points in 34 games. Lefebvre played 15 playoff games with 11 points and won the QMAA Top Defenceman award. He moved to he Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL before the season ended and played 7 games without any points. Lefebvre got to represent the Canada Québec team at the 2009 WHC-17 for 5 games where he scored 6 points.[3]

In the 2013–14 season Lefebvre moved to the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL but he only got to play 14 games before moving to play for UQTR Patriotes in the CIS men's ice hockey league. Lefebvre played 7 games with 8 points.[3]

In the 2016–17 season Lefebvre played for the UQTR Patriotes in the U Sports men's ice hockey league for 22 games putting up 25 points. Lefebvre moved to play for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL in the middle of the season.[4] Lefebvre played 11 games and put up 7 points. Lefebvre represented Canada at the 2017 Winter Universidade for 6 games where he scored 8 points.[3]

Professional

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In the 2017–18 season Lefebvre moved to Denmark to play for the Aalborg Pirates. Lefebvre played 48 regular season games and put up 36 points. Lefebvre won the Danish Championship and the Danish Cup with the Pirates while also being chosen to the All-Star team.[3][5]

In the 2018–19 season Lefebvre played for the Krefeld Pinguine in the DEL for 52 games to put up 23 points.[3][6]

Martin Lefebvre moved to Norway to play for the Stavanger Oilers in the Fjordkraftligaen for the 2021–22 season. Lefebvre put up 39 points in 47 total games. The Oilers went on to win the Norwegian Championship.[7][3]

Lefebvre was supposed to play for the Bratislava Capitals of the ICEHL for the 2022–23 season, but after the Slovakian team decided to not take part in the league, Lefebvre continued to play for the Oilers.[8] Lefebvre had a successful season as he put up 71 points in 59 total games, playoffs included. The Stavanger based team went on to win their 9th championship and the 2nd in a row.[9] Lefebvre himself won the player of the year award as he led all defencemen in regular season assists (35), goals (17) and points (52). Lefebvre also played 6 Champions Hockey League (CHL) games with the Oilers.[3][10][2]

Martin Lefebvre signed a one-year contract with the Porin Ässät for the 2023–24 SM-liiga season.[1][10] Lefebvre's playing surprised many, as he had scored 12 points in his first 15 SM-liiga games. He was called the most surprising player of the season start by news outlets.[11][12]

For 2024–25, Lefebvre left Porin Ässät, signing with Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League.[13]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Crabtree Draveurs QMAAA 44 5 13 18 36 3 0 2 2 0
2008–09 Collège Esther-Blondin Draveurs QMAAA 34 15 15 30 26 15 4 7 11 8
2008–09 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 7 0 0 0 4
2009–10 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 55 5 23 28 20 9 0 3 3 6
2010–11 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 65 10 45 55 20 14 1 9 10 8
2011–12 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 66 12 39 51 31 11 4 8 12 10
2012–13 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 56 7 33 40 16 11 1 3 4 0
2013–14 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 14 0 2 2 4
2013–14 U. of Québec-Trois-Rivières CIS 7 4 4 8 0
2014–15 U. of Québec-Trois-Rivières CIS 14 6 14 20 4 7 2 3 5 2
2015–16 U. of Québec-Trois-Rivières CIS 28 9 24 33 20 7 2 4 6 2
2016–17 U. of Québec-Trois-Rivières USports 5 0 1 1 2
2016–17 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 11 3 4 7 4
2017–18 Aalborg Pirates DEN 48 9 27 36 12 17 10 6 16 4
2018–19 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 52 3 20 23 20
2019–20 Aalborg Pirates DEN 8 2 2 4 0
2020–21 Aalborg Pirates DEN 19 7 13 20 2 16 5 6 11 4
2021–22 Stavanger Oilers NOR 35 7 23 30 14 12 3 6 9 0
2022–23 Stavanger Oilers NOR 44 17 35 52 6 15 4 15 19 6
2023–24 Ässät Liiga 46 4 23 27 12
Norway totals 79 24 58 82 20 27 7 21 28 6
Liiga totals 46 4 23 27 12

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada Quebec U17 5th 5 1 5 6 2
Junior totals 5 1 5 6 2

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tehopuolustaja Martin Lefebvre Ässiin". assat.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Kanadalainen mestaripuolustaja siirtyy SM-liigaan – takonut kovat pisteet". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Martin Lefebvre at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "CYCLONES SIGN COLLEGIATE DEFENSEMAN". Cincinnati Cyclones. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. ^ FORFATTER, INGEN (August 3, 2020). "Canadisk profil tager en ny tørn i Aalborg Pirates". www.nordjyske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  6. ^ ONLINE, RP (June 8, 2018). "Kanadischer Verteidiger: Pinguine bestätigen Verpflichtung von Lefebvre". RP ONLINE (in German). Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "IIHF - Stavanger back on top in Norway". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "Bratislava-Legionär findet neuen Arbeitgeber!". Hockey News (in German). August 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Mikkelsen, Marius N.; Askheim, Svein (April 17, 2023), "Stavanger Oilers", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved May 7, 2023
  10. ^ a b "Ässät nappasi kanadalaisen tehopakin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). April 19, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Mies tuli vuonolta ja hurmasi Suomen". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "Liiga | Ässien alkukauden yllättäjällä on erikoinen urapolku – Porissa mukana on koko perhe: "Seisomakatsomo on minulle ihan uusi kokemus"". Satakunnan Kansa (in Finnish). October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "Radulov lands in Yaroslavl, Dinamo and Kunlun strengthen defense. Top transfers". khl.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. June 11, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database