Alexandre is a skilled, competitive forward who can play center or on the wing and who we believe is on his way to being a very productive NHL player," said Kekalainen. "He is young and still learning and developing, but we are very excited about his future and what he can bring to our club."
A native of St-Martin-D'Heres, France, Texier registered 4-11-15 with 22 penalty minutes and 75 shots while averaging 15:50 of ice time in 49 outings with the club in 2020-21. He set career highs in assists, points, shots, time on ice and games played this past season. The forward recorded 6-7-13, 10 penalty minutes and a +3 plus/minus rating in 36 appearances with Columbus in 2019-20, leading club rookies in shooting percentage (12.2) and ranking second in plus/minus rating and third in goals (tied), assists and points. He posted 1-0-1 in two games at the end of the 2018-19 season before adding 2-1-3 in eight Stanley Cup Playoff contests.
The 6-1, 186-pound center notched 27-36-63 and 74 penalty minutes in 108 games over two seasons with KalPa in Finland's top professional league (Liiga) from 2017-19. He ranked second among the league's teenagers in assists and points in 2018-19, finishing with 14-27-41 in 55 appearances. He also captured the Jean-Pierre Graff Trophy as the French League's Best Young Player after notching 10-9-19 in 40 games with Grenoble in 2016-17.
Texier has represented France at several international tournaments. He suited up at the 2018 and 2019 IIHF World Championships as well as the 2017 (bronze) and 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships (D1A).
FULL ALEXANDRE TEXIER STATS
