Steve Downie

Steve Downie (born April 3, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Downie grew up in Holland Landing, Ontario, the younger son of John and Anne Downie. He has a brother, Greg. He attended Sacred Heart High School in Newmarket, playing hockey for the York-Simcoe Express AAA organization of the OMHA. He also attended St Joseph Catholic High School in Windsor, Ontario in 2004. Downie led his Express Bantam team to the All-Ontario AAA Championship in April of 2002. He was drafted in the 1st round (16th overall) by the Windsor Spitfires in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection.

Downie was selected in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Not long after being drafted, Downie was suspended for five games early in the 2005–06 OHL season for an on-ice altercation with teammate Akim Aliu. During a practice on September 28, 2005, Downie blindly cross-checked Aliu in the face without warning, knocking out 3 of his teeth, and then proceeded to fight his smaller, younger teammate. The incident stemmed from 16-year-old Aliu's refusal to take part in a hazing incident, where he would have been forced to stand naked in a cramped bus bathroom with other rookies. The team suspended Downie for five games and Aliu for one, and Downie was told to undergo professional counseling. Head...
Read More