The Verdun Juniors were a junior ice hockey team in 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 ...

from 1982 to 1984. They played at the

Verdun Auditorium The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...

History

The Verdun Juniors were assembled by general manager Eric Taylor, and coached by Pierre Creamer. Verdun won the Presidents Trophy in the 1982-83 season as playoff champions, defeating the

Trois-Rivières Draveurs The Trois-Rivières Draveurs ("Raftmen") were a Canadian junior ice hockey team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They played home games at the Colisée de Trois-Rivières, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The team was origina ...

Shawinigan Cataractes The Shawinigan Cataractes (french: Cataractes de Shawinigan) are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. The Cataractes have been previously known as the Shawinigan Bruin ...

and the

Longueuil Chevaliers The Longueuil Chevaliers ("Cavaliers") were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, playing in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada at Colisée Jean Béliveau. They were founded in 1982 and set a Canadian Hockey League record for ...

. The Juniors would compete in the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

that year versus the

Lethbridge Broncos The Lethbridge Broncos were a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League from 1974 until 1986. They played at the Lethbridge Sportsplex. :Division titles won: 1977–78, 1981–82 :Regular season titles won: 1981–82 : WHL Championship ...

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split thei ...

and the Oshawa Generals. Verdun would lose 7-6 to Portland, defeat Lethbridge 4-3, lose 5-1 to Oshawa, and lose 6-5 to Oshawa in the semi-final game, ending their hopes of a Memorial Cup championship. After two very successful seasons, the team revived its old name to become the Verdun Jr. Canadiens.

Players

Pat LaFontaine Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and spent his entire playing career with the league's New York State-based teams. LaFontaine played for th ...

scored 104 goals and 130 assists for 234 points in the 1982-83 season, his only season in major junior hockey, winning the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the top scorer, out-dueling future NHL icon

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 ...

. Two of the more prominent records he broke were

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

's 40-game point-scoring streak and Mike Bossy's 70 goals by a rookie. He was awarded the Michel Brière Commemorative Trophy as the MVP of the regular season, the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, the Michel Bergeron Trophy as the Offensive Rookie of the Year, the Mike Bossy Trophy as the best professional prospect, and the Frank J. Selke Commemorative Trophy as the Most sportsmanlike player. Also in 1982-1983 Pat LaFontaine was chosen Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year. Pat would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. Also of note, is alumnus

Claude Lemieux Claude Percy Lemieux (born July 16, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six teams between 1983 and 2009. Lemieux won four Stanley Cup championships during his care ...

, who would play almost 1200 NHL games. He scored 379 goals, and won 4

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 ...

s in 1986 (Montreal), 1995 (New Jersey), 1996 (Colorado) & 2000 (New Jersey). Billy Campbell was awarded the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the Defenceman of the year in the 1983-84 season. Jérôme Carrier was awarded the Frank J. Selke Commemorative Trophy as the Most sportsmanlike player in 1983-1984. :NHL alumni

Yearly Results

Regular season

Playoffs

*1982-83 Defeated Trois-Rivières Draveurs 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
Defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 2 in semi-finals.
Defeated Longueuil Chevaliers 4 games to 1 in finals. QMJHL CHAMPIONS
Lost to Oshawa Generals 6-5 in the semi-final game of the Memorial Cup. *1983-84 Defeated St.-Jean Castors 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
Lost to Longueuil Chevaliers 4 games to 2 in semi-finals. {{Defunct QMJHL Defunct Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams Verdun, Quebec Ice hockey clubs established in 1982 Sports clubs disestablished in 1984 1982 establishments in Quebec 1984 disestablishments in Quebec