Bob Leduc closed out his professional hockey career in the
North American Hockey League. When the Maine
Nordiques and the NAHL ceased to exist after the 1976-77 season, so did
Leduc’s career. Never did he play in the National Hockey League but Leduc played
158 regular season games in the WHA in the rebel league’s first three seasons.
Bob Leduc – NAHL
Leduc played for the Maine Nordiques in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
In his first year, he took on the dual role of player / head coach. Over 67
regular season games, he put in decent numbers with 23 goals and 43 assists for
66 points. The Nordiques finished last overall but because the Cape Codders
folded mid-season, Maine qualified for the post season. They were an early
exit, losing 3-1 to the Beauce Jaros
in the opening round.
In 1976-77, Jean-Charles Gravel took over the head coaching
duties with the Nordiques and Bob played just 25 regular season games. He
contributed four goals and totalled 14 points. Maine was much improved and
placed second in the eight team league. In what would be his final year in
professional hockey, Leduc added nine points over 12 playoff games. The
Nordiques reached the Lockhart Cup finals before being swept in four games by
the Syracuse
Blazers.
Bob Leduc – Pro Hockey
Between 1964-65 and 1976-77, Bob played in the AHL, EHL, WHA
and NAHL. Most of his career was spent in the American Hockey League with the
Providence Reds. With Providence, he played 496 regular season games, scoring
129 goals and assisting on 185 for 314 points.
Despite finishing with a below .500 record, in three years
Leduc was with the Reds, the team did quite well in the post season. In
1967-68, Providence placed seventh in the eight team league. Yet, they reached
the semi-finals before falling to the Quebec Aces, 3-1.
The following year, their regular season status improved to
fifth out of eight and the Reds once again advanced to the Calder Cup
semi-finals against Quebec. This time, Providence pushed the best of five
series to the limit before succumbing to the Aces.
In 1970-71, the AHL was split into two four team divisions.
Providence placed first in the Eastern Division, despite having just 69 points
over 72 games. The Reds were fourth overall in the league. Once again, they did
well in the playoffs, this time advancing all the way to the Calder Cup finals
before being swept by the Springfield Kings in four games.
For the World Hockey Association’s inaugural season in
1972-73, Leduc was a member of the Ottawa Nationals. Playing all 78 games, he
put in one of best years in pro hockey with 55 points. Bob moved with the
Nationals to Toronto for the following season as the franchise became known as
the Toros. Leduc totalled 51 points in
just 61 games and the Toros found some success in the playoffs. Toronto reached
the semi-finals against the Chicago Cougars and pushed the series to the seven
game limit before falling. At one point, Toronto led the series 3-2.
In 1974-75, Leduc took on the dual role of player/head coach
with the Toros, although he played in just 19 games during the regular season
and none in the playoffs. Toronto placed second in the five team Canadian
Division and fifth overall in the 14 team league with 88 points in 78 games.
However, the Toros fell in the opening round to the San Diego Mariners in six
games.
Bob Leduc – Hockey Card
Bob got his mug on mainstream cardboard just once. The Bob
Leduc rookie card appears as number 322 in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set. The last
series of that set featured players in their brand new WHA uniforms. Leduc was
shown as a member of the Ottawa Nationals.
