1973-74 QMJHL: 5 Players With 200+ Points

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 2^nd 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.

1974-75 WHA Goal Scoring Leaders

In the short-lived seven year history of the World Hockey Association, 1974-75 was one of the more significant as far as individual performances go. Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets scored 77 goals, the most any player would score in a single WHA season.

Bobby Hull – Winnipeg Jets

Hull, a five time 50 goal scorer in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks, once owned the NHL record for a short time with the 58 goals he scored in 1968-69. He played in each of the seven WHA seasons, all with the Jets. In his first four years in the league, he surpassed the 50 goal plateau. He scored 303 goals over his WHA career and 610 in the NHL. Including playoff goals, Bobby scored over 1,000 goals during his professional hockey career.

Wayne Rivers – San Diego Mariners

Wayne Rivers of the San Diego Mariners finished second with 54 goals, 23 less than Bobby Hull. This proved to be the pinnacle of his professional hockey career that lasted from 1961-62 to 1978-79. Rivers played five years in the WHA, scoring 158 goals in 357 regular season games. Between 1961-62 and 1968-69, Rivers played 108 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, scoring just 15 goals.

Serge Bernier – Quebec Nordiques

Serge Bernier of the Quebec Nordiques also finished the 1974-75 season with 54 goals and actually should get the tie-breaker nod over Rivers because he played two less games. Serge was in his second of six years in the WHA, all with Quebec. He made the jump back to the NHL with the Nordiques in 1979-80 but his career was over after the following season.

Bernier was the fifth overall pick at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft, taken from the Sorel Eperviers and going to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was the only player of the first fifteen picked in that draft to play in the NHL. Before jumping to the WHA for the 1973-74 season, Serge played for the Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. In total, he played 302 regular season games in the NHL, scoring just 78 goals while appearing in 417 in the WHA and scoring 230.

Anders Hedberg – Winnipeg Jets

Anders Hedberg of the Winnipeg Jets played his first of four seasons in the World Hockey Association in 1974-75. He finished fourth with 53 goals in just 65 games. As a bit of hockey trivia, Hedberg followed Mark Howe as only the second of five recipients of the Lou Kaplan Trophy as WHA rookie of the year. Hedberg scored more than 50 and totalled more than 100 points in each of his four years in the WHA. He topped out in 1976-77 with 70 goals and 131 points while only playing 68 games.

Hedberg moved to the National Hockey League in 1978-79, a year before the demise of the WHA. He signed with the New York Rangers and played with the club until retirement after the 1984-85 season. He played a total of 286 regular season games in the WHA and scored 236 goals. In 465 NHL regular season games, his goal total was a much lower and still respectable 172.

Tom Simpson – Toronto Toros

Finishing fifth with 52 goals was Tom Simpson of the Toronto Toros. Simpson was in his third of five years in the WHA. Tom was drafted in the sixth round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Blues but chose to jump from the Oshawa Generals directly to the WHA for the inaugural 1972-73 season. Simpson began with the Ottawa Nationals and continued with the franchise as it moved to Toronto then on to Birmingham, Alabama where they became the Birmingham Bulls. He also played 15 games with the Edmonton Oilers in his final season.

3 Memorial Cup Championships Of The Cornwall Royals

The Sarnia Sting have been members of the Ontario Hockey League since 1994-95. Before that, the franchise was known as the Newmarket Saints. Even before that, there was the Cornwall Royals. The Royals were in the OHL from 1981-82 but before that, they played in the QMJHL since its inception in 1969-70.

The Memorial Cup is the ultimate prize in Canadian junior hockey, pitting the best teams from the QMJHL, OHL and WHL to determine the best team in the country. The Cornwall Royals won the Memorial Cup three times as a team in the QMJHL.

In 1971-72, just their third season, the Royals finished first overall in the ten team QMJHL, ten points ahead of the next competitor, the Drummondville Rangers. Cornwall powered past the Verdun Maple Leafs, Shawinigan Bruins and Quebec Remparts to win the President’s Cup.

The 1972 Memorial Cup was held in Ottawa, Ontario and featured the Peterborough Petes and Edmonton Oil Kings, along with the Royals. Cornwall met Peterborough in the final game, winning 2-1 to become Memorial Cup champions for the first time. Cornwall goaltender Richard Brodeur was named tournament MVP, earning the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy.

Cornwall was led by several players that went on to play in the National Hockey League, including Bob Murray, Blair MacDonald, John Wensink and Al Sims. The team was coached by Orval Tessier. Orval would lead the New Brunswick Hawks to a Calder Cup victory in the American Hockey League in 1981-82. The following season, as coach of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Tessier was honoured with the Jack Adams Award as the league’s coach of the year.

In 1979-80, the Royals finished first in the Lebel Division and second overall, behind only the Sherbrooke Castors. A kid named Dale Hawerchuk played for the Royals and was named rookie of the year. Hawerchuk would go on to have a Hockey Hall of Fame worthy NHL career. Cornwall took out the Shawinigan Cataractes, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Sherbrooke to capture the President’s Cup.

The 1980 Memorial Cup was jointly held in Brandon, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. Once again, the Peterborough Petes were the OHL representative with the Regina Pats representing the WHL. Recovering from an 11-2 loss to Regina in the round robin portion of the tournament, Cornwall recovered and met Peterborough in the final game and won 3-2 in overtime. Dave Ezard of the Royals was the Stafford Smythe recipient. Besides Dale Hawerchuk, the team was led by future NHLers Scott Arniel, Marc Crawford and Dan Daoust.

The following season, 1980-81, Cornwall finished first overall in the QMJHL. Hawerchuk was the league’s scoring leader with 81 goals and 183 points. The Royals beat the Quebec Remparts, Sherbrooke Castors and Trois Rivieres Draveurs to earn the President’s Cup.

The 1981 Memorial Cup was held in Windsor, Ontario. Joining Cornwall were the Kitchener Rangers and Victoria Cougars. The Royals easily handled the Rangers in the final game by a score of 8-2 to capture their third and final Memorial Cup. Dale Hawerchuk was the Stafford Smythe Trophy winner. The team was supported by mostly the same cast as the year before with Dan Daoust gone but Doug Gilmour in.

1980-81 was the final year in the QMJHL for the Royals. The team shifted to the OHL for 1981-82. Since, the franchise has yet to capture a Robertson Cup as the playoff champion in the Ontario Hockey League. Subsequently, the team has never returned to the Memorial Cup tournament.