Hector Joseph Lalande (November 24, 1934 – August 18, 2010) was a Canadian 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He played in 151

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 ...

(NHL) games with the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

between 1954 and 1958. His most productive years were in the minors with the Clinton Comets where he had back-to-back 100-point seasons.

Personal

Born in North Bay, Ontario, Lalande returned each summer during his hockey career. After his hockey career, Lalande returned to North Bay permanently. In North Bay, he coached local hockey and baseball teams. He organized and coached

sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitat ...

for disabled athletes. Lalande was inducted into the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

Professional career

Minor league hockey

Lalande started out playing for the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario at ...

and

Galt Black Hawks The Galt Black Hawks were a junior ice hockey team based in Galt, Ontario, now a part of the city of Cambridge, Ontario, Cambridge. They played in the Ontario Hockey League, Ontario Hockey Association from 1949 to 1955 and were operated as an affil ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Junior. He showed great promise as a playmaker and was quickly recognized by NHL scouts. In the middle of the 1953–54 season, Lalande was called up by Galt's parent team the

to play two games. He did not record a point but received two

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

. He was sent back down to finish the season in Galt. The following season Lalande was again brought up to a higher league, this time with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

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 ...

. He played three games but again failed to really impress and was returned to Galt. He finished out the season leading his team in points with 31 goals and 48 assists, putting him fifth in the league overall for points and fourth in the league in assists. He had finally caught the attention of Chicago and was brought up to play a permanent role with the Black Hawks for the 1955–56 season.

Playing in the NHL

Lalande played 65 games for Chicago that season and recorded 26 points. He would continue that pace the following season while playing with linemates Forbes Kennedy and Harry Watson. He also saw time with affiliate the

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 ...

in 1956. During the 1957–58 season, Lalande played 22 games for Chicago before being traded to the

along with

Nick Mickoski Nicholas Mickoski (December 7, 1927 – March 13, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with four teams between 1948 and 1960. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1945 to 1965, was spent in variou ...

, Bob Bailey and

Jack McIntyre John Archibald "Jack" McIntyre (September 8, 1930 in Brussels, Ontario – March 15, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1950 and 1960. Playing career McIntyre played 499 National Hockey League ...

for

Bill Dineen William Patrick "Foxy" Dineen (September 18, 1932 – December 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and head coach. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1953 a ...

Billy Dea William Fraser Dea (born April 3, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in the NHL from 1953 to 1971, and then served as a coach during the 1981–82 season. Playi ...

Lorne Ferguson Lorne Ferguson (May 26, 1930 — March 28, 2008) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 422 games in the National Hockey League. Born in Palmerston, Ontario, he played for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Black Hawks ...

and

Earl Reibel Earl "Dutch" Reibel (July 21, 1930 – January 3, 2007) was a Canadian ice hockey professional player. Reibel played primarily as a centre with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins. A member of two Stanley ...

on December 17, 1957. In 12 games with the Red Wings, Lalande put up only two assists and was traded, four months after coming from Chicago, to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

of the AHL along with Don Poile and cash for

Dunc Fisher Duncan Robert Fisher (August 30, 1927 – September 22, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 275 games in the National Hockey League from 1947 to 1953 and again in 1958 to 1959. He played for the New York Rangers, Bos ...

on April 23, 1958. The trade would turn out to be a blessing in disguise as Lalande would help lead the Bears to back-to-back

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

Championships in 1957–58 and 1958–59. Lalande remained with the Bears for three more seasons, helping them to again reach the finals in 1960–61, eventually falling four games to none to the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

. Lalande also played a single game for the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

of the Eastern Professional Hockey League in a rehab stint in 1961. After scoring 57 points in the

1961–62 AHL season The 1961–62 AHL season was the 26th season of the American Hockey League. The league initiates the James C. Hendy Memorial Award for outstanding team or league executives. The league resumes East and West Divisions. The John D. Chick Trophy is ...

and leading the Bears to a second round playoff appearance, Lalande decided to leave Hershey for the St. Louis Braves of the EPHL. Playing in only 26 games, Lalande scored 30 points and 57 PIMs. For the 1963–64 season, Lalande joined the Clinton Comets of the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

and put up his most impressive numbers to date. Lalande finished first on his team in points and second overall in the league in assists with 27 goals, 75 assists and 102 points on the season. Lalande was a driving force behind the Comets winning of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy and the

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

. The following season, Lalande again put up big numbers with 31 goals and 69 assists for another 100-point season. In August 1965, Lalande was traded by Clinton to the

Jersey Devils The Jersey Devils were an American professional ice hockey team based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Devils were formed when the Philadelphia Ramblers, a member of the Eastern Hockey League, relocated to Cherry Hill at the end of the 1963–64 ...

along with Norm Defelice, Ted Sydlowski and Benny Woit for Ed Babiuk, Pat Kelly and Borden Smith. Lalande would finish out his best playing days with Jersey scoring 61 points in three seasons with the club. After two games into the 1967–68 season, Lalande joined the

OHA Senior A Hockey League The OHA Senior A Hockey League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1975 until 1987. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and competed for the Allan ...

to play for the Belleville Mohawks and would retire from ice hockey after scoring 17 points in his last 28 games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

*Calder Cup: 1957–58, 1958–59 (Hershey Bears – AHL) *Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy: 1963–64 (Clinton Comets – EHL) *Walker Cup: 1963–64 (Clinton Comets – EHL) * North Bay Sports Hall of Fame: 1986

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lalande, Hec 1934 births 2010 deaths Belleville Bulls players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks players Clinton Comets players Detroit Red Wings players Franco-Ontarian people Galt Black Hawks players Hershey Bears players Innsbrucker EV players Jersey Devils players Montreal Royals (EPHL) players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Rochester Americans players St. Louis Braves (EPHL) players Ice hockey people from North Bay, Ontario