Réal Cloutier – A man who left his mark
Réal Cloutier played his last game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league on May 12th, 1974. Today, almost 42 later, the former Rempart is being inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame.
Now 59, Réal Cloutier never imagined he would be getting a call from Gilles Courteau telling him he had been chosen by the selection committee. ‘I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting it, because it’s been a long time since I played’, swore the right winger, ‘but I’m happy’.
From the ages of 16 to 17, the former number 10 played two seasons in the Old Capital. A native of Saint-Émile in the north part of Québec City, Cloutier played at the Québec Coliseum before its renovations. In those days, the teams were physically close, in an area bordered by Chicoutimi, Québec, Sherbrooke, and Hull. ‘There were lots of people form Saint-Émilie who followed me. It was motivation when people followed the team. There were a lot of rivalries back then,’ said the one they nick-named Buddy. ‘The coaches didn’t have to give us motivation, there was action in every game.’
In his two-season stay in Québec, the Remparts swept all before them, earning the President Cup both years. The team collected 101 wins in 134 outings. In 1973 the Remparts vanquished the Cornwall Royals in the final, as they would the Éperviers de Sorel, who were 11 points ahead of them in the standings, the following season. ‘Sorel had a big team. It was a big win for us and Sorel didn’t see it coming. There were lots of fans outside,’ remembered the forward who would go on to play for the Québec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association and then the NHL.
All the same, the Remparts failed to repeat Guy Lafleur, Michel Brière et André Savard’s exploit. They failed to win the Memorial Cup and bring home the signifier of the best junior team in Canada. In 1973, Québec lost 9-1 in the final against the Toronto Marlboros and suffered the same fate in 1974, with a 7-4 loss to the Regina Pats. ‘That’s the disappointing part of it; it’s the last junior hockey game of the season. It’s an horror to play, but it’s still second place, it’s not first,’ he admitted. ‘In my day, the Remparts always had a good team. I knew the Remparts as winners and I was a winner too.’
216 points
In only 126 QMJHL matches, Réal Cloutier was able to amass 315 points for an average of 2.5 per game. After a first season or 99 points, he exploded for 216 in 69 games, playing with Jacques Locas Jr et Richard Nantais on his line. ‘Success doesn’t just happen. I played on good Remparts teams. The proof is that we won the Cup twice and both times we went on the Memorial Cup final. I think Paul Dumont knew what he was doing,’ said Cloutier, who also played for the Buffalo Sabers. ‘Richard was about more than getting points; that was our policy. There were more goals, more penalties, more fights than today.’
Réal Cloutier left his name on Remparts and QMJHL history books. His 216 single-season point mark stands as a Repmarts record. Guy Lafleur and Jacques Locas Jr. trail behind with 209 and 206 respectively.
In the 47-year history of the QMJHL, only 4 players have obtained more points in a single season: Mario Lemieux, Pierre Larouche, Pat LaFontaine, and Michel Déziel all amassed between 282 and 227 points. Among right wingers however, nobody has ever surpassed 216.
With tighter games these days and better goalies and systems, Réal Cloutier, who has a park named after him in Saint-Émilie, doesn’t think that his season record will be beaten by any future Rempart.
