We’re now living in times when it’s a rarity for a player to
total more than 100 points in a season. Back in the 1973-74 QMJHL, it was
simply a different game. The top five players in the race for the Jean Beliveau
Trophy had over 200 points. These five individual performances are among the
top nine single season point productions in Canadian Hockey League history.
These five 200+ point men were all members of one of just
two teams. In fact, seven of the top ten in the QMJHL in 1973-74 either played
for the Sorel Eperviers or the Quebec Remparts. The two teams finished one-two
in the regular season standings with Sorel getting the edge by 11 points. The
two met again in the playoff finals with Quebec exacting revenge by winning the
series four games to two.
·
Pierre Larouche set the current CHL record of
157 assists
·
Larouche’s 251 points in 1973-74 still stands as
the 2nd most, behind Mario Lemieux
·
1973-74 QMJHL dominated by Sorel Eperviers and
Quebec Remparts
·
Just Larouche and Real Cloutier went on to star
in pro hockey
Pierre Larouche – Sorel Eperviers
Pierre
Larouche of Sorel led the way with 251 points on 94 goals and 157 assists
over 67 games, earning the Jean Beliveau Trophy. The 157 assists stands today
as a QMJHL and CHL record for most assists in a single season. The point total
is the second most in a QMJHL and CHL season behind Mario Lemieux’s 282 points
in 1983-84 with Laval Voisins.
It was the third of three seasons in the QMJHL for Larouche.
He started in 1972-73 with the Quebec Remparts before moving to Sorel for his
final two seasons. The Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL liked what they saw and
drafted Pierre eighth overall at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. The Houston Aeros
of the WHA also drafted him but he chose the NHL route.
Larouche played over 800 regular season games in the NHL
from 1974-75 to 1987-88 with the Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers
and New York Rangers. He twice reached the 50 goal plateau in the NHL with 53
goals in 1975-76 with Pittsburgh and 50 in 1979-80 with Montreal.
Michel Deziel – Sorel Eperviers
Michel Deziel finished second behind Larouche with 227
points on 92 goals and 135 assists in 69 games with Sorel. It was his fourth
and final year with the club and his highest offensive output by far. Deziel’s
122 points in the previous year were respectable by today’s standards but a far
cry from what he would do in his final season.
The Buffalo Sabres selected Michel in the third round in
1974. The New England Whalers of the WHA also drafted him. Deziel played just
one NHL game during his career, a playoff game with Buffalo in 1974-75. He
split time between the AHL and IHL until calling it quits after the 1979-80
season.
Real Cloutier – Quebec Remparts
Real Cloutier of the Quebec Remparts finished third with 216
points on 93 goals and 123 assists in 69 games. It was the second of two
seasons in the QMJHL for Real. Before he was eligible for the NHL draft, the
Quebec Nordiques of the WHA picked him ninth overall in 1974. Cloutier was
playing for the Nordiques in 1974-75.
Real played with Quebec until the WHA ceased to exist after
the 1978-79 season. He stayed with the club as they were swallowed up by the
NHL and remained until the end of the 1982-83 season. After two more seasons
with the Buffalo Sabres, Cloutier retired after 1984-85.
In the WHA, Cloutier totaled 566 points in 369 regular
season games. He surpassed 100 points in four of his five seasons. In 1976-77
and 1978-79, Real was awarded the Bill
Hunter Trophy as the WHA’s leading scorer.
Jacques Cossette – Sorel Eperviers
Jacques Cossette finished fourth, two points behind Cloutier
with 214 points on 97 goals and 117 assists over 68 games with Sorel. Cossette
began his junior career in 1971-72 with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the
OHA and moved to Sorel for the following season. In his first season with the
Eperviers, he scored 61 goals and totaled 127 points.
Jacques was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL
and the Vancouver
Blazers of the WHA in 1974. He played a total of 64 regular season and
three playoff games in the NHL, all with Pittsburgh. He retired after the
1979-80 season.
Jacques Locas – Quebec Remparts
Jacques Locas rounded out the top five with 206 points on 99
goals and 107 assists in just 63 games with the Remparts. 1973-74 was his fifth
season in the QMJHL after starting out with the St. Jerome Alouettes in
1969-70. He was traded to Quebec midway through his second season. In 1972-73,
he finished second in the league with 143 points, eight behind teammate Andre
Savard.
Despite his offensive success in junior, it took until the
eleventh round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft before the Los Angeles Kings
picked him. Locas never played in the NHL but did appear in 187 games in the
WHA between 1974-75 and 1977-78 with the Michigan Stags, Baltimore Blades,
Indianapolis Racers, Cincinnati Stingers and Calgary Cowboys.
