Jean-Claude Morrissette: What a character!
The 2013 vintage Hall of Fame of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League includes quite a character with Jean-Claude Morrissette in the “Builders category”. He became famous particularly as the General Manager of the Laval Titan, and then of the Granby Prédateurs.
His main feats of arms could make some jealous. Here are a few: five participations in the Memorial Cup Tournament in only eight years. After four attempts with the Titan, he won the fifth one as the Prédateurs’ General Manager in Peterborough in 1996.
He also gave their first chance to Bob Hartley and Michel Therrien as head-coaches in the QMJHL. It was Therrien who was coaching the Titan during the “unilateral reappropriation” of the 1996 Memorial Cup in the Petes lair.
During his first round in the National Hockey League, Heartley led the Colorado Avalanche to win the 2001 Stanley Cup. After a stay with the late Atlanta Thrashers, he is now trying to revive the Calgary Flames.
As for Michel Therrien, he obtained his first job in the NHL with the Pittsburg Penguins, where he guided Sidney Crosby’s first steps. In June 2008, Therrien’s Penguins were defeated in the final by the Detroit Red Wings. Today, Therrien allowed the Montreal Canadien to regain its credibility and lustre as it is the revelation of the 2012-2013 shortened season in the NHL. He is also a serious potential candidate to receive the Jack-Adams Trophy awarded every year to the best coach.
Jean-Claude Morrissette also saw an incredible number of his players being drafted or invited by NHL teams where they made a career: Martin Lapointe, Francis Bouillon, Patrice Brisebois, Donald Audette, Gino Odjick, Sandy McCarthy, Sylvain Blouin, Emmanuel Fernandez, Sylvain Lefebvre, Patrick Boileau, Philippe Boucher, Jason Doig, Daniel Goneau, Benoît Gratton, Georges Laraque, Colin White, Xavier Delisle, Philippe Audet and many others.
Another element is also dear to Jean-Claude Morrissette: FAMILY. He is the fourth (the third boy) of a family of fourteen children from Lac-Bouchette in Lac-Saint-Jean.
“We were raised in total poverty in a rural area. On a daily basis, we had to use our survival instinct. We always had a knife between our teeth. However, our mother taught us that to succeed in life we had to have two great qualities: desire and hard work. Personally, I will always be grateful for that.
“The Morrissette always stood together. With my brothers Jocelyn, Léo-Guy, Régis, Georges, Carol and Pierre we have transposed this recipe into our respective companies the Titan, and then the Prédateurs.”
“In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined being inducted in the QMJHL Hall of Fame one day. Especially when I look at the names of the builders and the players already there, said Jean-Claude Morrissette with humility. When the QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau called me on the phone to give me the good news on October 19 2012, I was out hunting. At the time I thought it was a prank like X.”
“I joined the Laval Titan a little by accident in 1985-1986, thanks to Léo-Guy. My brothers and I then owned 2 shares out of twelve. Since we like to have control over our companies, we became the sole owners of the Titan in 1988-1989. The rest is history. We sold the Granby Prédateurs, which became the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, at the end of the 1997-1998 season. It was quite the adventure.”
“My best memory remains winning the Memorial Cup with the Granby Prédateurs in 1996. I would have given my life to drink out of this symbol of Junior Hockey in Canada.”
“I have always given 150% of myself. I never counted the hours. I only have one word in my sports vocabulary: WIN. I took all the necessary means to get there. I like to say that to defeat the enemy, you have to get up one hour earlier and go to bed one hour later that he does. My teams were always ready to fight. They were never intimidated.”
Today, at almost 67, I am mostly interested in NHL hockey, thanks to Michel Therrien and Bob Hartley, two head-coaches who are also winners but with completely different styles.
“My way of doing things did not please everyone. However, I have always accepted to live with the character I created. I have no regrets.”
