Rejean Giroux: Maine Nordiques and Beauce Jaros

The hockey career of Rejean Giroux was compact with just eight years from his first year in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts to his final year in the NAHL with the Beauce Jaros. However, Giroux made the best of it, especially with the Maine Nordiques of the NAHL in 1973-74.

Rejean Giroux – NAHL

In 1973-74, Giroux played 68 games for the Maine Nordiques, scoring 64 goals and assisting on 58 for 122 points. He led the Nordiques in goals and points while finishing fourth on the team for assists behind Paul Larose, Michel Rouleau and Michel Archambault. His 64 goals placed him second in the league, three behind Luc Simard of the Cape Cod Cubs. Giroux was ninth in assists and just one point behind Simard for the overall lead in points.

Maine placed second overall but went 1-7 in the opening round round-robin playoff. Over the eight playoff games, Rejean scored three goals and assisted on four. Giroux also played 12 games for the Quebec Nordiques in the World Hockey Association that year.

In 1976-77, he returned to the NAHL to play for the Beauce Jaros. Over 13 games, he scored six and assisted on four. The Jaros folded 30 games into the season and Giroux didn’t catch on with another team.

Rejean Giroux – QMJHL

For three years from 1969-70 to 1971-72, Giroux played in the QMJHL for the Quebec Remparts. In his first year, he scored 38 and assisted on 43 for 81 points over 55 regular season games. His 175 penalty minutes placed him seventh in the league. Rejean was fourth on the team in scoring behind Guy Lafleur, Jacques Richard and Andre Savard. Lafleur had 103 goals and 170 points that year.

Quebec finished first overall and took the President’s Cup championship by sweeping the St. Jerome Alouettes in the finals. Giroux scored 16 and totalled 29 points over 15 playoff games, third on the team behind Lafleur’s 43 points and Paul Larose’s 30. The Remparts lost in the Memorial Cup semi-finals to the Montreal Junior Canadiens.

Giroux took a step back in his second year with the Remparts with 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points over 50 regular season games. He was fifth on the team in points with Lafleur once again leading the way, this time with a record 130 goals and 209 points.

The Remparts once again finished first overall in the QMJHL, this time 32 points better than the second place Shawinigan Bruins. Quebec and Shawinigan met in the President’s Cup finals and the Remparts won the series in five games. The team then beat out the Edmonton Oil Kings for the Memorial Cup championship.

In 1971-72, Guy Lafleur was gone and it was up to Jacques Richard and Rejean to lead the team. Giroux scored 58 goals and assisted on 51 for 109 points, second on the team in each category to Richard. His 58 goals were also second in the QMJHL behind his teammate while he tied for eighth in points.

Quebec finished third overall and once again reached the President’s Cup finals. This time, the Remparts fell to the Cornwall Royals in six games. Giroux scored 16 and assisted on 15 for 31 points over 15 playoff games.

Rejean Giroux – Pro Hockey

The Chicago Blackhawks selected Giroux in the fifth round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, 77^th overall. He never played in the National Hockey League but did appear in 59 games in the WHA with the Quebec Nordiques in 1972-73 and 12 more with the club in 1973-74.

In 1974-75 and 1975-76, Rejean played for the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League. In his first year, he was fourth on the team with 60 points over 68 games. His 27 goals were the second best on the Black Hawks. Dallas reached the finals before falling to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in seven games. The Black Hawks outscored their opponents 28-24 on the series with games 1, 2 and 7 decided in overtime.

Alexandre Giroux

Rejean’s son has enjoyed maybe a bit more success in the world of pro hockey. Alexandre also spent three years in the QMJHL, from 1998-99 to 2000-01 with the Hull Olympiques and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

In the American Hockey League, the younger Giroux led the league in goals scored in consecutive seasons, 2008-09 and 2009-10, earning him the Willie Marshall Award for his efforts. He scored 60 goals the first year and 50 the next, playing for the Hershey Bears in both seasons.

The veteran of 48 NHL games between 2005-06 and 2011-12 with the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets has signed an extension in Switzerland’s National League A. 2014-15 will be his second year with Ambri-Piotta in the NLA.

Curt Brackenbury: NHL Enforcer Honed His Craft In The NAHL

Tough guy Curt Brackenbury played most of his second year of pro hockey in the North American Hockey League with the John Brophy coached Long Island Cougars. It served as a bit of transformation in his game after providing more of an offensive role in 1972-73 with the Jersey Devils of the EHL. His penalty minutes ballooned from just 66 with the Devils in 1972-73 to the fifth highest in the NAHL in 1973-74.

Curt Brackenbury – NAHL

Brackenbury played in the NAHL for just the 1973-74 season, the first in the league’s four year history. With the Long Island Cougars, Curt played 45 regular season games, scoring eight goals and assisting on 20 for 28 points while sitting 194 minutes in the penalty box. His 194 PIM placed him fifth in the NAHL, 91 behind fourth place Bill Goldthorpe of the Syracuse Blazers and a whopping 177 behind the league leader, Nick Fotiu of the Cape Cod Cubs.

Over 17 Lockhart Cup playoff games, Brackenbury added five goals and an assist while spending nine minutes short of an hour in the sin bin. The Cougars reached the Lockhart Cup finals before being swept by Goldthorpe and the Syracuse Blazers.

The 1973-74 season was not exclusive to the NAHL for Curt. He played in 13 games with the Des Moines Capitols in the IHL, along with four games for the Chicago Cougars in the World Hockey Association.

Curt Brackenbury – Pro Hockey

Brackenbury played pro hockey from 1972-73 to 1982-83 in the EHL, IHL, NAHL, WHA, SHL, NHL and CHL. As mentioned, his pro career started with a different role than what the rest of his career would quickly evolve into. With the Jersey Devils, he scored 17 goals and assisted on 27 for 44 points over 68 games. He sat just 66 minutes in the box.

After his year with the Long Island Cougars, Curt followed John Brophy to the SHL and the Hampton Gulls for the 1974-75 season. Soon after, he was a regular in the WHA. Between 1973-74 and 1978-79, Brackenbury played 265 regular season games in the World Hockey Association with the Cougars, Minnesota Fighting Saints and Quebec Nordiques. He scored 41 and totalled 91 points while accumulating 753 PIM.

In the Avco World Trophy playoffs, Curt played an impressive 48 games, adding 14 points and 161 PIM. In 1976-77, he helped the Quebec Nordiques to the finals against the Winnipeg Jets. Quebec won the championship with the series going the full seven games.

In 1975-76, Curt’s year was split between the financially crippled Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Nordiques. His combined 365 PIM over 74 regular season games led the WHA.

When the WHA ceased after the 1978-79 season, Brackenbury played his first games in the National Hockey League with Quebec. Between 1979-80 and 1982-83, Curt played in 141 NHL regular season games with the Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. He appeared in just two Stanley Cup playoff games, both with the Oilers.

In Curt’s final year of pro hockey, he appeared in just six games with the Blues. Brackenbury finished up the 1982-83 season in the Central Hockey League with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, playing in 44 games.

Jim Corsi of the Maine Nordiques

Since 1998-99, he has been the goaltending coach for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. Jim Corsi got his start in professional hockey with the Maine Nordiques of the NAHL in the league’s final season, 1976-77.

Jim Corsi – NAHL

In his first year pro, Corsi played in net for 54 of the Nordiques 74 regular season games. He posted a 3.57 goals against average and had one shutout. Backing him up and playing in 28 games was Mario Viens. Viens played pro for just the 1975-76 and 1976-77 season after four years in the QMJHL with the Cornwall Royals. In 1975-76, he split his season between the Toronto Toros in the WHA and the Buffalo Norsemen in the NAHL.

Corsi played in all 12 playoff games for Maine in 1976-77. After finishing second overall in the eight team league, the Nordiques then swept the Johnstown Jets in the opening round and downed the Binghamton Dusters in the semi-finals. In the Lockhart Cup finals, Maine came up against the Syracuse Blazers in the finals and were swept out of NAHL history.

Jim Corsi – Pro Hockey

Out of Concordia University in the CIAU, Corsi played professional hockey from 1976-77 to 1979-80 in North America and from 1980-81 to 1991-92 in Italy. In North America, Jim played in the NAHL, WHA, AHL, NHL and CHL. Over two years in the World Hockey Association, 1977-78 and 1978-79, he played in 63 games for the Quebec Nordiques. In the second year, he split duties with another former NAHL goalie, Richard Brodeur. Behind the bench of that Nordiques team was Jacques Demers.

In 1979-80, Corsi played 26 games with the Edmonton Oilers in their first year in the National Hockey League after the WHA merged. It ended up being Jim’s only NHL action and he shared duties with five other goalies that year. Eddie Mio played the most games with 34. Other notable goaltenders playing for Edmonton that year included Ron Low and Dave Dryden.

During his days in Italy, Jim played for club teams while also appearing with the country’s national team. Corsi appeared at eight IIHF World Championship tournaments for Italy. He was on the roster for the Italian squad at the 1984 Winter Olympic games.

Jim Corsi – Coach

Corsi has been goaltending coach with the Buffalo Sabres since 1998-99. Since, the team has not had a problem keeping pucks out of the net, rather putting them in. His star pupils have been Ryan Miller and Marty Biron.

 

Paul Larose of the Maine Nordiques

Paul Larose played in all four North American Hockey League seasons and was one of the league’s most consistent offensive producers. Larose played all four years, his final four as a pro hockey player, with the Maine Nordiques, helping the club to a Lockhart Cup finals appearance in 1976-77.

Paul Larose – NAHL

Over 287 regular season NAHL games, Paul scored 179 goals and assisted on 248 for 427 points. Twice he topped the 50 goal plateau and surpassed 100 points in three of his four years.

In his first year with the Nordiques, Larose scored 53 and assisted on 66 for 119 points over 70 games. He placed third in the NAHL for goals, second for assists and third for points.

1974-75 saw Paul score 54 but add just 49 assists for 103 points in 73 games. He was the team leader with Maine for goals, assists and points. Larose’s 54 goals placed him second in the league, one goal behind Rod Bloomfield of the Binghamton Dusters. Paul placed tenth for assists and tied for third for points.

Larose once again led the Nordiques in goals, assists and points in 1975-76 with 41 goals and 73 assists for 114 points over 71 games. His assist total placed him fifth in the league. 114 points would have tied Paul for the league lead in 1974-75. In 1975-76, the total placed him down in eighth spot in a NAHL led by Joe Hardy of the Beauce Jaros who amassed an amazing 208 points.

In his final season of pro hockey, Paul’s numbers dropped but the Nordiques excelled with their most successful season in their stay in the NAHL. Over 73 regular season games, he scored 31 and assisted on 60 for 91 points. He placed eighth in the league for assists. Maine reached the Lockhart Cup finals before being swept in four by the Syracuse Blazers.

Paul Larose – QMJHL

Paul played just one year of junior in the QMJHL, Quebec’s contribution to the Canadian Hockey League. Larose started out the season with the Trois Rivieres Ducs, scoring 31 and totalling 66 points over 33 games before being traded to the Quebec Remparts. With Quebec, he also totalled 66 points but in just 24 games.

Combined, Larose played 57 games, scoring 52 and assisting on 80 for 132 points. In the high scoring QMJHL, Paul finished ninth for goals, fifth for assists and sixth for points. The Remparts were led by Guy Lafleur who scored 103 goals and totalled 170 points in 56 games.

Quebec was crowned President’s Cup champions as QMJHL playoff champs after sweeping the St. Jerome Alouettes in the finals. Larose finished second to Lafleur on the team for playoff points with 30 in 15 games. Guy amassed 43 in the same 15 games.

Paul Larose – Pro Hockey

Larose was taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, 91^st overall. He played pro hockey from 1970-71 to 1976-77 in the EHL, WHA and NAHL. In the World Hockey Association, Paul played 28 games for the Quebec Nordiques in 1972-73 and five with the Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades in 1974-75.

Larose’s top year in pro hockey came in 1971-72 with the Syracuse Blazers of the Eastern Hockey League. Paul finished his second year of pro hockey with 67 goals and 62 assists for 129 points over 75 regular season games. His 67 goals led the EHL and his 129 points placed him second behind teammate Ray Adduono’s 165. Syracuse reached the finals before being swept by the Charlotte Checkers.

Richard Brodeur: Goalie for the Maine Nordiques

NAHL

Richard Brodeur was probably one of the most talented goaltenders to play in the North American Hockey League. Because of that talent, he spent played just 15 games in the NAHL before moving on to bigger, better things.

Brodeur played his 15 games for the Maine Nordiques during 1973-74, the inaugural season for the NAHL. He had played with the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association during that league’s inaugural season in 1972-73. He would also return to Quebec in 1973-74 to play 30 games.

The Maine Nordiques finished second in the seven team NAHL and were in total isolation. Maine finished 19 points behind the first place Syracuse Blazers and 20 points ahead of the third place Long Island Cougars. Without Brodeur in the playoffs, the Nordiques won just one of eight games in the opening round round-robin and did not advance.

QMJHL

Richard Brodeur was nothing short of a superstar in his junior career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He played two years in the league, 1970-71 and 1971-72, with the Cornwall Royals and filled a spot vacated by Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Billy Smith.

In one of the great turnarounds in hockey, the Royals went from dead last in the ten team QMJHL in 1970-71 to first overall in 1971-72. In his rookie season, Richard played 35 of Cornwall’s 62 regular season games with obviously no post season action. In 1971-72, he played in all but four of the team’s regular season games and appeared in each of Cornwall’s playoff games.

Cornwall finished first overall, ten points ahead of the second place Drummondville Rangers, earning the team the Jean Rougeau Trophy. The Royals reached the QMJHL finals and came out victorious with a 4-2 victory over the Quebec Remparts.

At the Memorial Cup, held in Ottawa, Ontario, the Royals met the Peterborough Petes in the final game and won the holy grail of Canadian Major Junior hockey with a 2-1 win. The Edmonton Oil Kings also competed in the tournament and represented the WHL.

The accolades were plenty for Brodeur in 1971-72. He was named the First Team All-Star goalie. He won the Jacques Plante Trophy as the goalie in the QMHL with the lowest goals against average (2.93). He was named the recipient of the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the Memorial Cup tournament’s most valuable player.

Pro Hockey

After his performance with the Cornwall Royals in 1971-72, Brodeur was taken by the expansion New York Islanders in the seventh round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, 97^th overall. Richard chose to go to the upstart WHA instead and play his first pro hockey with Quebec. He would return to the Islanders after the WHA ceased to exist but appeared in just two games with the club in 1979-80.

Brodeur played in the WHA from 1972-73 to 1978-79, the entire lifetime of the league. He played exclusively with the Nordiques. In 1976-77, he played 53 games for the team during the regular season and all 17 of Quebec’s playoff games. The team finished first in the Eastern Division and second overall behind just the Houston Aeros.

Quebec met the Winnipeg Jets in the Avco Cup finals in 1976-77 and it was an odd series. The overview makes the series look close with Quebec winning in seven games, while outscoring their opponents by just three goals, 31-28. However, five of the games were decided by a differential of five or more goals. Game six was a blowout with Winnipeg winning 12-3. Game seven was an 8-2 victory for Quebec.

In 1979-80, while playing just two games with the powerhouse Islanders in the NHL, Brodeur spent the rest of the year in the Central Hockey League with the Indianapolis Checkers. Richard played the majority of games for the club and shared the Terry Sawchuk Trophy with teammate Jim Park as the goaltending duo with the lowest goals against average in the league.

While playing in the National Hockey League between 1979-80 and 1987-88, Richard saw most of his action with the Vancouver Canucks. Along with his two games on Long Island, he also played six with the Hartford Whalers at the end of his NHL career.

In 1981-82, Brodeur played the bulk of the regular season games for the Vancouver Canucks. Despite a losing record during the regular season, the Canucks managed to make it through to the Stanley Cup finals with Richard playing all the team’s post season games. The Canucks came up against the New York Islanders and lost the series in a four game sweep.

Alain Caron: The Other "Boom Boom"

At 38 years old, Alain Caron became a legend of the North American Hockey League in what would be his final year of professional hockey. Caron suffered a heart attack in the off-season and was forced to retire from the game.

A veteran of a pro hockey career that began in 1959-60, Caron played one game with the NAHL's Syracuse Blazers in 1974-75 before spending the full 1975-76 season with the Beauce Jaros. In 73 regular season games with the Jaros, Alain scored 78 goals and assisted on 59 more for 137 points. Uncharacteristic of the league, Caron accumulated just 26 minutes in penalties.

His 78 goals was the second highest single season total in NAHL history, behind just Dave Staffen who scored 87 the following season. He finished first in goal scoring in 1975-76 and his 137 points were good for fourth in the league. In the playoffs, he added 21 more goals and 13 assists for 34 points in just 14 games as the Jaros reached the Lockhart Cup finals before falling to the Philadelphia Firebirds.

His career from 1959-60 to 1966-67 was spent in the minor leagues. With expansion in 1967, Caron was finally able to make it to the big show. He was property of the Chicago Black Hawks when the Oakland Seals selected him in the expansion draft. He played 58 games with Oakland in 1967-68 and two more with the Montreal Canadiens the following year.

Alain played an additional 195 games of major league hockey in the World Hockey Association between 1972-73 and 1974-75 with the Quebec Nordiques and Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades.

However, it was during his minor league days that Caron excelled. in 1962-63, with the St. Louis Braves of the Eastern Professional Hockey League, Alain was first in the league with 61 goals in just 54 games. An interesting bit of hockey trivia - second to Caron on the Braves was Phil Esposito in his first year of pro hockey. Esposito scored 36 goals and finished fifth in the league.

The following year, Caron was still with the Braves but the league had changed to the Central Professional Hockey League. He once again led in goals with 77. His 125 points were also the best in the league.

With the Buffalo Bisons in 1965-66, his goal total was a more down-to-earth 47 but it tied him for the Americna Hockey League lead with Dick Gamble of the Rochester Americans.

The man that was also named "Boom Boom" was dissed by the major hockey card companies, with exception of 1972-73. Alain Caron was included in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee NHL set that featured a selection of WHA players in the higher numbers. The Alain Caron rookie card (and only card) is number 324 in that set.

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It was heart problems that forced Caron from the game and it was heart problems again in 1986 that ended his life at just 48 years old.