Description
Dear hockey fans,
Those of you who have been eagerly awaiting a bible on the highlights of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League through more than forty years of history will certainly not be disappointed by this book; a publication that offers unique content, filled with statistics, photos, anecdotes, records and news items distributed throughout its 288 pages.
Although the QMJHL began operating in 1969, until now little information was available regarding its main actors: players, coaches, officials and others who first took to the ice under the tutelage of the League’s founder, Robert Lebel. At that time, the QMJHL was represented by eleven organizations: the Drummondville Rangers, the Laval Saints, the Quebec Remparts, the Rosemont National, the Shawinigan Bruins, the Sherbrooke Castors, the Sorel Eperviers, the St. Jerome Alouettes, the Trois-Rivieres Ducs, the Verdun Maple Leafs and the Cornwall Royals.
The first decade was marked by the accomplishments of Guy Lafleur, Michel Brière, Luc Simard, André Savard, Richard Leduc, Jacques Richard, Nick Sanza, Jacques Locas Jr, Tim Bernhardt and the excellence of a trio of Sorel Eperviers comprised of Hall of Fame inductees Pierre Larouche, Michel Déziel and Jacques Cossette.
Subsequently, Mike Bossy, Normand Dupont, Normand Aubin, Denis Savard, Mario Gosselin, Guy Carbonneau, Jacques Cloutier and Ray Bourque amazed crowds before giving way to Dale Hawerchuk, Pat Lafontaine, Guy Rouleau, Luc Robitaille, Mario Lemieux, Marc Fortier, Vincent Damphousse and Patrice Lefebvre. These greats were then followed by Martin Brodeur, Pierre Turgeon, Yanic Perreault, Martin Lapointe, Pierre Sévigny, René Corbet, Alexandre Daigle, Ian Laperrière, and most recently Roberto Luongo, Simon Gagné, Daniel Brière, Mike Ribeiro, Vincent Lecavalier, Maxime Talbot, Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby.
With thousands of outstanding players passing through its storied history, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which includes the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), is unquestionably recognized as the best development league in the world. Year after year, approximately half of the players drafted by National Hockey League clubs originate from the CHL. These results underline the reasons why hundreds of players from Canada, the United States and Europe choose to pursue their development and hone their skills at the CHL.
Today, the QMJHL is more than a development league. While it is undoubtedly recognized as a formidable institution that allows its players to exceed their limits and perfect their skills at the dawn of a prolific career in professional hockey, the QMJHL is also recognized as a springboard to an equally rewarding career in Canadian universities or in the marketplace.
Its primary mission is to develop players for professional hockey while supporting their academic endeavours in order to help them become responsible and educated citizens.
Enjoy!
Gilles Courteau
President of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League