Pierre Roland Larouche (born November 16, 1955) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

forward who played 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 ...

for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

, and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

between 1974 and 1988. He was a two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

winner with the Canadiens.

Hockey career

As a youth, Larouche played in the 1965, 1966 and 1968

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, ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Amos, Quebec Amos is a town in northwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Harricana River. It is the seat of Abitibi Regional County Municipality. Amos is the main town on the Harricana River, and the smallest of the three primary towns — after Rouyn-Noranda and ...

. Larouche played

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Sorel Éperviers The Sorel Éperviers (Black Hawks) were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981. The team was one of the founding members of the QMJHL. They mostly played at the Colisée Cardin in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 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 l ...

. During the

1973–74 QMJHL season The 1973–74 QMJHL season was the fifth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. East and west divisions resumed with the addition of two new teams, the Hull Festivals and Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Eleven teams played 70 game ...

, Larouche won the

Jean Béliveau Trophy The Jean Béliveau Trophy is awarded to the top regular season scorer of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The award is named after Quebec native Jean Béliveau, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Béliveau died on December 2, 2014 at the age ...

as the league's top scorer, with 94 goals, 157 assists, for a total 251 points. Larouche set the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

record at the time, which is now second only to

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

's 282 points ten years later. Larouche was drafted 8th overall by the Penguins in the 1974 NHL amateur draft. In 1976, he became the 16th player to reach the 50-goal mark. At the time he was the youngest player to hit the 50-goal and 100-points plateau. His record was broken by

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

in 1980. He was first player to score 50 goals in a season with two teams: he scored 53 with Pittsburgh in 1975–76 and 50 with Montreal in 1979–80.Podnieks, pp. 478-479 and is the only NHL player to have scored more than 45 goals with three different teams, also scoring 48 with the

. Larouche is also one of the few players to score at least a point-per-game average in his final

NHL 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 ...

season. He had 12 points in 10 games, during the

1987–88 NHL season The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanl ...

, his last in the league. He won two

s with Montreal in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and 1979. In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Larouche at No. 94 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons. On December 31, 2010 he served as one of the coaches for the alumni game of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Panth ...

between the Penguins and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

Records and accomplishments

* He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 goals (21 years, 61 days) until he was surpassed by

(20 years, 40 days). * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 50 goals (20 years, 139 days) and 100 points (20 years, 129 days) in a season until he was passed by Wayne Gretzky in both categories. * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 200 points (21 years, 32 days) until he was surpassed by Wayne Gretzky (19 years, 347 days). * He was the youngest player in NHL history to score 300 points (22 years, 133 days) until he was surpassed by

Bryan Trottier Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with the ...

(22 years, 102 days). * Holds the Montreal Canadiens record for most goals in a season by a center with 50 goals in 1979-80 * Holds the New York Rangers record for most goals in a season by a center with 48 goals in 1983-84 * 1st player in NHL history to score 50 goals with 2 teams (PIT & MTL) as well as 45 goals with 3 teams (PIT, MTL & NYR). * Held 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 l ...

record for points in a season with 251 in 1973-74 until he was surpassed by

with 282 points in 1983-84. * Holds the QMJHL record for assists in a season with 157 in 1973-74

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Diamond et al. 1998, p. 1209.

International

Golf career

After retiring from hockey, Larouche took up

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. He was a winning player on the Celebrity Player Tour and he nearly qualified for the U. S. Open in 1993.

References

* * ;Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larouche, Pierre 1955 births Canadian ice hockey centres Hartford Whalers players Hershey Bears players Houston Aeros draft picks Ice hockey people from Quebec Living people Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Rangers players People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Remparts players Sorel Éperviers players Stanley Cup champions