Four new inductees to QMJHL Hall of Fame
LONGUEUIL, Wednesday, January 12, 2005 (QMJHL) Gilles Courteau, the commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is very proud to present the four new members to be inducted to the QMJHL Hall of Fame on Wednesday, April 6, at Delta Hotel, in downtown Montreal.
In all, three players and one builder will achieve this honour. «We are pleased to induct the right winger Claude Lemieux, the centers André Savard and Claude Verret, and the coach Guy Chouinard. Again this year, the members of the selection committee, Michel Côté, president, Denis Baillargé, Michel Gagnon, Claude Mailhot and Bertrand Raymond did a remarkable job», said Gilles Courteau.
<b>CLAUDE LEMIEUX</b>
The right winger Claude Lemieux played with three teams during his junior career, that is, the Draveurs de Trois-Rivières (1982-83), the Junior de Verdun (1983-84) and the Canadien Junior de Verdun (1984-85). He was born on July 16, 1965 in Buckingham, province of Québec.
The 1984-85 season was certainly his most successful one. During the regular season, he scored 58 goals and 66 assists in 52 games (1,115) for a total of 124 points. He won the President Cup, given to the champions of the season and he took part in the Memorial Cup. At the end of that season, Claude Lemieux received the Guy Lafleur trophy for having been the most valuable player in the playoffs. In only 14 playoffs games, he was at the top of the League with 23 goals, from which 4 wins, and 40 points (1,643).
During his career, Claude Lemieux gathered 61 points, from which 32 goals, in 27 playoff games.
He was named on the 2nd All-Star team in 1983-84, and on the 1st All-Star Team in 1984-85.
In 1983, Claude Lemieux was the 2nd pick of the Montreal Canadians, 26th in all. He remained with that team until 1990.
He also played with the New Jersey Devils where he won the Conn Smythe trophy, in 1995, given to the most valuable player of the playoffs. He then played with the Colorado Avalanche, (again) the New Jersey Devils, the Phoenix Coyotes and the Dallas Stars. Claude Lemieux played nine seasons scoring 20 goals or more. He kept a lifetime record of 379 goals, 406 assists and 785 points in the 1,197 games he played, and he won the Stanley Cup 4 times (Montreal Canadians 1986, New Jersey Devils, 1995 and 2000, Colorado Avalanche, 1996).
<b>ANDRÉ SAVARD</b>
André Savard was with the Remparts de Québec for his whole junior career, from 1969-70 to 1972-73. Apart from accumulating records and trophies, he kept a per game point average of 2,189 during regular season, and 2,045 during playoffs.
Firstly, he participated three times in the Memorial Cup (1969-70, 1970-71 and 1972-73) and won it in 1971. Savard also won three times the Governor trophy given to the champions of the regular season, in 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1972-73. At the end of those seasons, he also won the President Cup given to the playoff champions.
On February 5, 1971, Savard established three records in the QMJHL and in the CHL that have not yet been broken. He had the highest total of points in one game with 12 (3 goals and 9 assists), of assists in one game with 9, and of assists in one period with 7.
Moreover, for the 1972-73 season, Savard received the Jean Béliveau trophy, given to the top scorer, and the Michel Brière trophy, given to the most valuable player.
He was named on the 2nd All-Star Team in 1970-71 and on the 1st All-Star Team in 1972-73.
1st pick of the Boston Bruins, 6th in all, André Savard had many successful seasons in the NHL, playing with the Buffalo Sabres and the Nordiques de Québec.
Former General Manager of the Montreal Canadians, André Savard is now assisting the General Manager as well as acting as General Manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadians’ club in the American Hockey League.
<b>CLAUDE VERRET</b>
Claude Verret played for the Draveurs de Trois-Rivières during the three seasons he was with the QMJHL, from 1980-81 to 1982-83. The centre player, born on April 20, 1963 in Lachine, had an exceptional junior career.
He received the Michel Bergeron trophy given to the top rookie forward in 1980-81 for his 39 goals and 73 assists, a total of 112 points in the 68 games he played. In 1981-82, with 54 goals and 108 assists, for a total of 162 points in 64 games, he won the Jean Béliveau trophy rewarding the top scorer. Moreover, Verret received the Frank J. Selke trophy twice (1980-81 and 1981-82) for his gentlemanly conduct.
During the three seasons he was with the QMJHL, Claude Verret remained among the ten top scorers of the circuit. With 462 points (166 goals and 296 assists) in 200 games played in regular season, he is the all-time 19th scorer. Moreover, among the players with over 400 points in career, he ranks 2nd for the best per game point average (2,31), the first one being Mario Lemieux (2,81). With his 296 assists, he also ranks 9th all-time in this category.
Claude Verret was the top scorer of the playoffs in 1982 with 48 points, from which 13 goals, in 23 games. He ranks 4th scorer in playoffs with 94 points, from which 29 goals, in 46 games, which gives him an average of over 2 points per game.
He was selected on the 1st All-Star Team in 1981-82 with John Chabot, and on the 3rd All-Star Team in 1982-83, following Pat Lafontaine (1st) and Mario Lemieux (2nd).
Eight round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1982, he scored 2 goals and had 5 assists, for a total of 7 points in 14 games. He also played in France and in Switzerland.
<b>GUY CHOUINARD</b>
The coach Guy Chouinard is considered as an important builder in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He worked with the following teams : Chevaliers de Longueuil, Canadien Junior de Verdun, Tigres de Victoriaville, Draveurs de Trois-Rivières, Faucons de Sherbrooke, Titan du Collège-Français de Laval, Remparts de Québec. Chouinard was born on October 20, 1956 in the city of Québec.
Guy Chouinard first played in the QMJHL, with the Remparts de Québec, from 1971-72 to 1973-74, and he received several honours.
In 1974, he was 2nd round pick by the Atlanta Flames, 28th in all. During his professional career, Chouinard totalled 575 points in 578 games, from which 205 with Atlanta, Calgary and St-Louis.
This forward player returned to the QMJHL, as a coach, from 1985-85 to 2001-02.
Throughout the years, he coached, among other players, Stéphane Fiset, Jocelyn Thibault, Jonathan Girard and Simon Gagné.
Guy Chouinard holds the highest number of records as head coach: 16 seasons, and in regular season, 988 games, 515 victories and 4 championships (Tigres de Victoriaville 1989-90, Faucons de Sherbrooke 1992-93, Remparts de Québec 1997-98 and 1998-99).
In playoffs, Guy Chouinard also holds records: 27 playoffs, 144 games and 78 victories. He also led his team four times to final playoffs (Tigres de Victoriaville 1989-90, Draveurs de Trois-Rivières 1991-92, Faucons de Sherbrooke 1992-93) and he won the President Cup as head coach in 1986-87 with the Chevaliers de Longueuil.
Guy Chouinard was named Coach of the year three times, in 1992-93 with the Faucons de Sherbrooke, in 1997-98 and in 1998-99 with the Remparts de Québec. He was selected 5 times as coach on the 1st All-Star Team 1986-87 (Chevalier de Longueuil), 1989-90 (Tigres de Victoriaville), 1992-93 (Faucons de Sherbrooke), 1997-98 and 1998-99 (Remparts de Québec), and once on the 2nd All-Star Team 1987-88 (Tigres de Victoriaville).
He was coaching the Remparts de Québec, in 1998-99, when the team equalled the record of 27 games in a row without defeats (22-0-5), which score had been previously established by the
Éperviers de Sorel in 1973-74.
