- The Fort Wayne Komets have signed former Penguins first-rounder Simon Despres for 2026-27
- Concussions ended the 6-foot-4 defenseman’s NHL run after the 2016-17 season
- Read below for what Komets coach Ben Boudreau said and the Anaheim link between the two
Simon Despres is coming back to North America.
The Fort Wayne Komets announced Tuesday that the former first-round pick has agreed to terms for the 2026-27 season. Despres is 35 now, and the ECHL will be the first North American league he has played in since his NHL career ended.
Komets head coach Ben Boudreau was asked what the veteran brings to a young blue line, and he did not hold back on the resume.
“Simon has played at every level in our game and has had success. He’s played in the best leagues in the world alongside some of the best players in the game,” Boudreau said. “He is a big-body defenseman with an ability to move the puck and produce points while being a physical presence and dominating defensively.”
Here’s Fort Wayne welcoming him to the Jungle:
That last name is not a coincidence. Ben’s father, Bruce Boudreau, was the head coach in Anaheim for the 49 games Despres played with the Ducks.
Pittsburgh took the Laval, Quebec native 30th overall in 2009, and he arrived with real hype behind him. He played 144 games across four seasons with the Penguins before they shipped him to the Ducks for Ben Lovejoy midway through 2014-15.
His 2014-15 season turned out to be the best of the bunch. Despres piled up 23 points in 75 games between the two clubs and added seven more in 16 playoff games as Anaheim pushed to the Western Conference Final.
Concussions took the rest of it. A severe one in 2015 left him with symptoms that never fully cleared, the Ducks eventually bought out the contract, and 2016-17 was the last season he played in the NHL. He walked away with 193 games, six goals and 43 points.
Europe kept him on the ice. Despres won back-to-back German league championships with Eisbären Berlin in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and he has been playing overseas for most of the past decade.
Fort Wayne, the ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, also brought forward Randy Hernandez back on Tuesday and now has 16 players signed for its 75th season. Hernandez got a welcome-back post of his own:
Almost a decade after his last NHL shift, Despres opens a season in North America again on Oct. 17 against Toledo.
