Josef Boumedienne Explained

Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:200
Played For:Södertälje SK
Tappara
New Jersey Devils
Tampa Bay Lightning
Washington Capitals
Brynäs IF
Oulun Kärpät
ZSC Lions
Dinamo Minsk
EV Zug
Djurgårdens IF
Jokerit
Slovan Bratislava
Birth Date:12 January 1978
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Draft:91st overall
Draft Year:1996
Draft Team:New Jersey Devils
Career Start:1996
Career End:2013

Josef Sami Boumedienne (born 12 January 1978) is a Swedish former professional hockey defenceman and hockey scout. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. He is currently serving as an Assistant Coach[1] for the Columbus Blue Jackets.[2]

Playing career

Boumedienne started his career playing for Huddinge IK in the Swedish Allsvenskan in the season 1995–96. He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft as their third-round pick, #91 overall. Boumedienne moved to play for Södertälje SK in the Elitserien. After two seasons with Södertälje SK he went to play with Tappara in the Finnish SM-liiga.

Boumedienne played two seasons with Tappara and in the 1999–00 season he led the team's defenders with 8 goals and 24 assists for 32 points. In the 2000–01 season he moved to the NHL, playing his first season on New Jersey's farm team, the Albany River Rats in the AHL. The next season he made his NHL debut on 6 October 2001[3] and played one game with New Jersey Devils, scoring his first NHL goal. In November 2001 the Devils traded Boumedienne along with Sascha Goc and Anton Butin to the Tampa Bay Lightning, in exchange for Andrei Zyuzin.

Boumedienne played three games with the Lightning, playing mainly with the Lightning's farm team, the Springfield Falcons. In 2002 Tampa Bay traded Boumedienne to the Ottawa Senators for a seventh-round draft pick. He played with the Senators organization until December 2002, when the Senators traded him to the Washington Capitals for Dean Melanson. He started his Capitals career playing mainly on the Capitals' farm team Portland Pirates, playing six games with the Capitals. In the 2003–04 season he continued with the Capitals, playing 37 games with the team. After a successful season he received a one-year contract extension from the Capitals.

In the NHL lockout season of 2004–05, Boumedienne started his season with Brynäs IF in Sweden's Elitserien. Only 13 games later, he moved to the SM-liiga when SML-team Kärpät acquired him. He won the Finnish championship with the team. In the 2005–06 season he started with the Zürich Lions in the Swiss NLA, but was released by the team after 17 games, where he scored 1 goal and 10 assists. According to the Zürich Lions, Boumedienne's defending was poor, leading to his release. He played the rest of the season with Södertälje SK, in the Elitserien.

Boumedienne signed a two-year contract with Kärpät in November 2006. He missed the start of the season due to abdominal surgery. In April 2007 Boumedienne won his second Finnish championship with Kärpät.

In the summer 2007 Boumedienne signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Washington Capitals. He played the entire season with the Hershey Bears. In the 2008–09 season he moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, playing 19 games with the Toronto Marlies. After this he returned to SM-liiga, winning his third SM-medal, gaining a silver with Kärpät.

For the 2009–10 season Boumedienne started with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL. However, he was released by Minsk, even though he led all Minsk defenders in points, with 7 points in 17 games.

In 2010 Boumedienne moved to play with EV Zug in the NLA. After the season Djurgårdens IF acquired Boumedienne on a one-year contract, with an option for 2011–12. On 30 January 2012, Finnish club Jokerit acquired Boumedienne and signed him to a contract for the rest of the season.

Boumedienne's last season of his professional career was in 2012–13, initially with HC Bratislava Slovan of the Kontinental Hockey League, finishing with Oulun Kärpät in the SM-liiga.

Scouting and coaching career

Boumedienne was hired as a scout by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, and was then promoted to Director of European Scouting in 2016. He served as a scout for Lukko, and a late season head coaching position with Brynäs in 2021 to keep them from being relegated. He was promoted to Director of Pro Scouting with Columbus in 2021 [4]

International

Boumedienne played for Sweden's national team at the European Hockey Tour, and has held Finnish nationality in addition since 2004.

Personal

Boumedienne is the son of an Algerian father and a Finnish mother. He is married, and has 3 sons. [5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
1996–97Södertälje SKSEL3211232
1997–98Södertälje SKSEL2633628
1998–99TapparaSM-l516814119
1999–00Tappara SM-l5082432160412310
2000–01Albany River RatsAHL7982937117
2001–02Albany River RatsAHL903310
2001–02New Jersey DevilsNHL11012
2001–02Springfield FalconsAHL537253257
2001–02Tampa Bay LightningNHL30004
2002–03Binghamton SenatorsAHL262151762
2002–03Portland PiratesAHL448223077
2002–03Washington CapitalsNHL61010
2003–04Portland PiratesAHL1318910
2003–04Washington CapitalsNHL372121430
2004–05Brynäs IFSEL1360643
2004–05Oulun KärpätSM-l3251015581215612
2005–06ZSC LionsNLA171101124
2005–06Södertälje SKSEL261192062
2006–07Oulun KärpätSM-l18224361013416
2007–08Hershey BearsAHL52735428110002
2008–09Oulun KärpätSM-l17371032
2008–09Toronto MarliesAHL1907729
2009–10Dinamo MinskKHL1707730
2009–10EV ZugNLA70448
2010–11Djurgårdens IFSEL52525307370336
2011–12Djurgårdens IFSEL362151732
2011–12JokeritSM-l16178261033618
2012–13Slovan BratislavaKHL1702218
2012–13Oulun KärpätSM-l14011630334
NHL totals474121636

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
1996SwedenEJC18511214
1997SwedenWJC8th61012
1998SwedenWJC6th10002
Junior totals 1221318

Awards and honours

AwardYear
AHL
All-Star Game2001[6]
SM-liiga
All-Star Team2005

Notes and References

  1. (Columbus Blue Jackets website)
  2. Web site: Blue Jackets team staff directory . . 2018-02-03 . 2018-02-03.
  3. Book: 2007-2008 New Jersey Devils Media Guide . 62.
  4. Web site: Boumedienne taking on next challenge with Blue Jackets . 30 September 2023 .
  5. Web site: Boumedienne taking on next challenge with Blue Jackets . 30 September 2023 .
  6. Web site: Canadian All-Stars 11, Planet USA All-Stars 10 . . 2001-01-15 . 2019-02-01.