Robert Patrick Lalonde (born March 27, 1951) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who played 641 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

from 1971 to 1982. During his career he accumulated 124 goals, 210 assists for a total of 334 points. He played for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

, Atlanta Flames,

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and a short stint with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

until his eventual retirement due to a recurring knee injury. Bobby Lalonde was listed at 5'5" and was the shortest player to play in the NHL at that time. He was selected 17th overall in the second round of the

1971 NHL Entry Draft The 1971 NHL Amateur Draft was the ninth NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Larry Robinson, who retired after the 1991– ...

. He now resides on the outskirts of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, with his wife Carolyn. He has two sons. Brent, the eldest, was born while he was playing for the

and his younger son Court was born while he was playing for the Atlanta Flames.

Playing career

Lalonde played in the 1962

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the LaSalle youth team. His junior career began with the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

Montreal Junior Canadiens The Montreal Junior Canadiens were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Junior Hockey League from 1933 to 1961, and the Ontario Hockey Association from 1961 to 1972. They played out of the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The ...

, for whom he played from 1968 to 1971, earning 255 points in combined goals and assists. The Junior Canadiens won the Memorial Cup twice during Lalonde's tenure there, once in 1969 and again the following year. Lalonde turned pro in 1971, joining the

as their number two draft choice. He netted 1 goal and 5 assists in 27 games with the Canucks prior to being sent to their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

for the remainder of the season. Lalonde skated with the Americans for 42 games, tallying 25 points in goals and assists. The following season Lalonde skated with the Canucks, where he remained until

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

. He spent nearly half of the 1973–74 season out of play due to an ankle injury. During the 1975–76 and 1976–77 seasons, Lalonde briefly played for the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

's Tulsa Oilers. All told, Lalonde netted 189 points in combined goals and assists in 353 games with the Canucks. In October 1977, Lalonde (then a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

) was picked up by the Atlanta Flames. Lalonde remained with the Flames through

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, scoring 38 goals and 56 assists in 154 games. Lalonde was traded to the

in exchange for future considerations in October 1979. He found himself playing for

Fred Creighton Fred Creighton (June 24, 1930 in Port Arthur, Ontario – September 28, 2011) was a Canadian ice hockey centre and coach. Creighton is best known for his time as an NHL head coach. Creighton grew up in rural Manitoba. After completing his journ ...

, who had coached him previously in Atlanta. He spent the bulk of the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons in Boston, tallying 14 goals and 37 assists in 133 games. In October 1981, the Bruins bought out the remaining year of Lalonde's contract and released him as a free agent. Lalonde returned to the NHL on a minor-league contract with the

, playing 19 games with the CHL's

Oklahoma City Stars The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAI ...

and 1 game with the Flames. He then moved to the European leagues, playing 15 games with HC Davos of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

before retiring from professional hockey in 1982.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lalonde, Bobby 1951 births Living people Atlanta Flames players Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres HC Davos players Montreal Junior Canadiens players Oklahoma City Stars players Quebecers of French descent Rochester Americans players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players Ice hockey people from Montreal Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States