Claude Lapointe (born October 11, 1968) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former ice hockey player. In his career, Lapointe played for the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

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 ...

, New York Islanders, and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

Early life

Lapointe grew up in the city of

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002. History Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...

. As a child all he did was play hockey. As a teenager his first job was not an average job. It was playing in the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The le ...

. Players in this league got paid just like players in the NHL do, just not as much money. Other than this, Lapointe had no other occupations other than hockey. He was offered a scholarship by the University of Michigan but he refused it.

Playing career

He was drafted by the Nordiques (now the

) in the 12th round of the 1988 NHL Draft, with the 234th overall pick. Lapointe spent most of his NHL career with the New York Islanders. He was there from the 1996–97 season to the 2002–03 season. While with the New York Islanders, he received many honors such as many NYI Fan club MVP awards and three

Bob Nystrom Robert Thore Nystrom (born October 10, 1952) is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972– 86. He is best remembered as having scored the ...

awards, which is awarded to the player who most exemplifies leadership, hustle, and dedication. He also received awards for reaching the 800 game mark, (over 1000 NHL games including reg. season, playoffs, and pre-season), over 100 goals. Other achievements include being named Assistant captain with the Islanders, ranking among the Top 3 in the NHL for face-off win percentage for 15 years consecutively - his entire NHL career. Similarly, Lapointe was among the league's elite in terms of physical conditioning. In 1999, he represented Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Norway, only to lose to Sweden in the bronze medal game. Lapointe was a strategic player with great anticipation skills, incredible skating skills and played every shift with intensity. He had an in-your-face hockey style but was well-liked and well-respected by coaches, teammates, referees, and management around the league. During the 2002–03 season he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and in 2004, Lapointe retired from the NHL.

Personal life

Lapointe has two sons: Kirk and Kody. He coaches and trains aspiring hockey players both on ice and off ice. His training and technical approach has raised eyebrows and gotten much notice from junior and NHL general managers. Lapointe's ability to rapidly develop and hone talent far exceeds the norm - He consistently takes Midget BB kids and transforms them into high Midget Espoir and AAA draft choices in as little as three months with targeted on and off ice regimens. Lapointe credits his motivational approach and his attention to detail as the keys to successfully understanding what each player needs to keep them improving beyond what they think they are capable of achieving.

Career statistics

External links

* 1968 births Calgary Flames players Colorado Avalanche players Halifax Citadels players Ice hockey people from Montreal Laval Titan players Living people New York Islanders players People from Lachine, Quebec Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Quebec Nordiques draft picks Quebec Nordiques players Saint John Flames players SC Bern players Trois-Rivières Draveurs players Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players Canadian ice hockey centres {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1960s-stub