Photo courtesy of TexasStars.com

Fantasy Summary

Big, heavy grinding centreman with offensive upside. Above-average skater. Natural goal-scorer who has all the right tools to score goals at the NHL level.


Observations

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June 2022 – L’Esperance’s game has steadily improved over his past four full-time seasons in the pros. Earning short NHL stints in all four of these seasons, he has not quite seemed to find a fit on the NHL roster, however, now three full successful AHL campaigns into his career (183 games played, 80 goals, 56 assists, 136 points), the NHL still appears to be an obtainable goal for the undrafted 26 year old. If he remains in Dallas, he would be a front-runner for an NHL spot, especially under the coaching regime of newly-hired Pete DeBoer, who instills a slightly more offensive game than former coach Rick Bowness. Currently a group-six UFA (he hasn’t played enough NHL games for Dallas to retain him as an RFA) , Dallas could still definitely choose to retain him, although, still young, he would be a tantalizing free agent for several teams. Aaron Itovitch

February 2020 – L’Esperance busted out of a six game pointless streak against the Niagara Ice Dogs with two power play goals. In addition, he had the opportunity to get his first career AHL hat trick but could not beat Collin Delia on a penalty shot. After lighting up the league last year and coming within four goals of the league leader (he tallied 30 goals in 54 games), L’Esperance has come back to earth this season. Last year L’esperance was shooting at a very high rate of 19.0%, and that percentage has come back closer to the norm this year at 12.3%. With only a slightly elevated shot per game rate, this is the reason that his  goal total has dropped by 33.3%. In saying that, L’Esperance is Texas’ second leading scorer and has to be near the top of the list for a call up by Jim Nill, add that to the fact that he can play in a bottom six role and it only helps his case in the future. Jordan Lambe

 

February 2019 – In his first year out of college, the undrafted centre has exploded onto the AHL scene. Boasting 41 points in 48 games and a trip to the AHL all-star game in his rookie season, L’Esperance also currently leads the league in goals with 26. Joel now looks to be a top candidate to earn a call-up to the big team after being a long-shot at the beginning of the season. Nate Duffett

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 6.0
NHL Certainty 6.0
Country USA
Position C
Roster Type Minors
Shoot/Glove Right
Date of Birth August 18, 1995
Height 6‘2”
Weight 201 lbs
Drafted No

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2009-2010 Compuware 14U AAAT1EHL 14U31 9 716 28|        
 2010-2011 Compuware 16U AAAT1EHL 16U36 18 1836 14|        
 2011-2012 Compuware 18U AAAHPHL 18U26 13 619 32|        
  Tri-City StormUSHL2 0 00 0|        
 2012-2013 Tri-City StormUSHL49 10 919 57|        
 2013-2014 Tri-City StormUSHL35 21 1334 28|        
  Sioux City MusketeersUSHL25 6 814 16|Playoffs8 1 01 10 
 2014-2015 Michigan TechNCAA29 7 1017 18|        
 2015-2016 Michigan TechNCAA35 16 1026 16|        
 2016-2017 Michigan TechNCAA44 11 1728 53|        
 2017-2018 Michigan TechNCAA44 12 1527 45|        
  Texas StarsAHL9 1 12 0|Playoffs22 1 34
 2018-2019 Dallas StarsNHL18 2 02 6|        
  Texas StarsAHL54 30 1545 23|        
 2019-2020 Dallas StarsNHL3 1 01 2|        
  Texas StarsAHL58 25 1540 39|        
 2020-2021 Dallas StarsNHL12 2 02 2|        
 2021-2022 Texas StarsAHL62 24 2549 30|Playoffs2 0 11
 2022-2023 Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL72 25 2449 44|        
 2023-2024 Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL59 16 1228 32|Playoffs9 2 24

Highlights