The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's

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 ...

team from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

History

The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces standing for Anglo-Canadian Employees with an ''s'' to form a plural. The French name was added later. The Aces played until 1971, from 1930 on playing home games at the

Quebec Coliseum Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Most notable of the Aces' players was the legendary

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Ho ...

, who played for the Quebec Aces in 1951-52 and 1952-53. The Aces were

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

champions in 1944, while still playing as an amateur team. The Aces turned professional the following season, joining the

Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

(1944–1953),

Quebec Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

(1953–1959) and

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 ...

(1959–1971). The Aces were league champions of the Quebec Hockey League in 1953–54 and 1956–57, winning the Thomas O'Connell Memorial Trophy. The Aces challenged for the Edinburgh Trophy both seasons, versus the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

champions, losing in 1953–54 versus the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

, and winning in 1956–57 versus the

Brandon Regals The Saskatoon/St. Paul Regals were an ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that existed for one season in 1957–58. The franchise split its home games between Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. The Re ...

. (Stott, Jon C. Ice Warriors: The Pacific Coast/Western Hockey League 1948-74, pp. 58, 82) During the team's later years in the AHL, the Aces were the farm club for the

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 Wells ...

four seasons from 1967 to 1971, giving the early Flyers teams a strong

presence with players such as Andre Lacroix, Jean-Guy Gendron,

Simon Nolet Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

Serge Bernier Serge Joseph Bernier (born April 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Quebec Nordi ...

and

Rosaire Paiement Joseph Rosaire Wilfrid Paiement (born August 12, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He is the older brother of Wilf Paiement. Paiement started his National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967. He al ...

, all former Aces. The Flyers also owned the "Junior Aces" team which played in the Quebec Junior Hockey League since the 1964–65 season. The Flyers sold the junior team's assets in 1969 to group who founded the

Quebec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts (french: Remparts de Québec) that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The first edition played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has pla ...

Paul Dumont Paul Dumont (June 15, 1920 – April 9, 2008) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He was associated with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from its founding in 1969 to 1984. He served as the general manager of the Quebec Rempar ...

, served as the general manager of the Junior Aces. In 1971, the Flyers chose to relocate their farm team to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. The Aces became the

Richmond Robins The Richmond Robins were a professional ice hockey team based in Richmond, Virginia. They were a member of the American Hockey League for five seasons from 1971–72 AHL season, 1971–72 to 1975–76 AHL season, 1975–76. Their cross-state rivals ...

for the 1971–72 season. Not a year later, the group who owned the Remparts bought a

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

franchise from San Francisco and moved it to Quebec City to become 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 ...

which started in 1972 and in 1979, the team moved to 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 ...

until 1995 when the team moved to Denver, Colorado to become the

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 ...

. The Aces name was revived by a team from the Ligue nord-américaine de hockey from 1997 to 1998, and 2001 to 2003. The team relocated in 2007 and is now known as

Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge Lois Jeans was a hockey team based in Pont Rouge, Quebec in Canada. The team was part of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). The team had been known by many names such as the Vanier Voyageurs, Quebec Ace, Beaupré Caron et ...

Season-by-season results

* 1928–1936 (Quebec City Railway-Paper League) * 1936–1941 (Montreal Senior Group,

QAHA Qaha ( arz, قها , from ) is a city in northeastern Egypt, located 25 km (18 mins) north of Cairo. It is located in the rich farmland of the southern part of the Nile Delta, and is well-irrigated by canals leading off the Delta Bar ...

) * 1941–1953 (

) * 1953–1959 (

) * 1959–1971 (

)

Regular season

''Some results unavailable from 1928 to 1944.'' † From 1936–39, Quebec played some 4-point games against Victorias and McGill. 1936-41: Source: Ottawa Citizen, 1943–44: Ottawa Citizen

Playoffs

''American Hockey League seasons only.'' ^†One game tiebreaker to determine final playoff position.

References

External links

Quebec Aces history website
{{Authority control Senior ice hockey teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1928 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1971 1928 establishments in Quebec 1971 disestablishments in Quebec Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Philadelphia Flyers minor league affiliates