QMJHL Media Release
2013-11-25
BOUCHERVILLE, Monday November 25, 2013 – The commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, unveiled today, the names of the four new inductees that will make their way into the QMJHL Hall of Fame – presented by RDS on Wednesday April 2nd, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Montreal.
Three players and one official will be honoured. “We will recognize four important figures in our history during the evening” said the commissioner. “We will have the pleasure of celebrating the careers of Gerard Gallant, Jean-Luc Phaneuf, Normand Caisse and Patrice Brisebois. I would like to thank the members of the QMJHL Hall of Fame – presented by RDS, selection committee: Michel Côté (president), Denis Baillargé, Michel Gagnon, Albert Ladouceur, Bertrand Raymond and Marc Lachapelle for their excellent and continuous contribution to this precious institution.”
The president of the selection committee, Michel Côté, also added: “There are so many worthy candidates, that choosing is always very difficult. However, we rigorously analysed each candidate and believe that we have made the right choices. All four individuals had excellent careers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and fully deserve this honour. We are looking forward to inducting them into the Hall of Fame.”
Here is a brief overview of their careers:
GERARD GALLANT
After being selected in the 10th round by the Sherbrooke Castors in 1980, Gerard Gallant had a tremendous rookie season with 101 points; 41 goals in 68 games. The young man from the Maritimes already showed great qualities, including leadership; he was a top-notch team player.
In three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, from 1980-81 to 1982-83, the five feet and 11 inch forward had accumulated 321 points, commanded respect, and was able to stick up for his teammates – as evidenced by his 706 penalty minutes.
In the playoffs, his 90 career points earned him 5th place all-time in the QMJHL, behind Jacques Jr Locas (153), Mario Lemieux (98), Jacques Richard (97) and Claude Verret (94).
He is the only member in QMJHL history to win the President Cup four times in his combined roles of player (2) and head coach (2). As a hockey player with Sherbrooke in 1982 and then in 1983 with Verdun, Gallant would taste the joy of the championship series. During the 1983 playoffs he and teammate Pat LaFontaine led the League, collecting 33 and 35 points respectively; Gallant scored 14 goals in 15 games, quite an acomplishment since he spent 86 minutes in the penalty box!
He still holds several records in the QMJHL, including the “three goals scored the fastest by the same player in a playoff game “, done in an historic two minutes and four seconds on March 23, 1983, leading the Verdun Junior to a 6-3 victory over the Trois-Rivières Draveur.
In 2009-10, he made a comeback in the QMJHL, this time as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs (New Brunswick). The team won three consecutive regular season titles, a first in the history of the League. In addition, Gallant’s team won the grand final of the playoffs in 2011 and 2012, after losing in the final round against Moncton at its first attempt in 2010. In 2011, the Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup as Gallant could count on a talented brigade including Jonathan Huberdeau, Stanislav Galiev, Jacob DeSerres, Jonathan Beaulieu and Simon Després.
Therefore Gerard Gallant has maintained in the regular season, the best career winning percentage for a coach in the QMJHL (,791), higher than the previous record holder, Maurice Filion of the Québec Remparts (,733). Unsurprisingly, he twice won the Ron-Lapointe Trophy, awarded to the coach of the year, at the end of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons .
In the National Hockey League
Gerard Gallant has had a distinguished playing career among professionals. Called in the 6th round by the Detroit Red Wings in 1981, he spent most of his training in the National Hockey League with the same team, for nine seasons. With Steve Yzerman, Bob Probert and Coach Jacques Demers, he helped revive the franchise that was experiencing difficult times before his arrival. In 4 consecutive seasons, from 1986-87 to 1989-90, he scored at least 30 goals, including a career-high of 93 points with 39 goals in 1988-89. He ended his NHL playing carrer in the the Tampa Bay Lightning uniform with a grand total of 480 points in 615 regular season games. At the time of his induction in 2014, he served as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens.
JEAN-LUC PHANEUF
Canadian born on October 26, 1955 in Montreal Quebec. 5’08 and 160 lbs centre in his major junior career. Selected in the 7th round of the 1975 NHL Entry draft; 113th overall by the Detroit Red Wings.
As a small centre, Jean-Luc Phaneuf was possibly the fastest and most electrifying player of his time.
Before becoming a medical professional, he impressed fans with 297 points in 209 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, in regular seasons and playoffs. An impressive average of 1.4 points per game.
For two seasons in the QMJHL, he made up half of a dynamic duo with Normand Dupont in the uniforms of the Montreal Junior. On many occasions, they both entertained the crowds at the Montreal Forum with their spectacular play making.
In 1974-1975, Jean -Luc Phaneuf, then captain of his team, had a stellar season with 151 points including 100 assists. He finished 2nd among scorers in the League that year; only seven points behind linemate Normand Dupont. He was named to the first all-star team in the League, he totaled 11 games of “4 points or more.”
On November 14, 1974 during a 19-3 victory of the Montreal Junior against Chicoutimi, the number 14 on the back of Phaneuf’s jersey made its way onto the score sheet eigth times. These 8 points in one game were a personal record; 3 goals and 5 assists! On this, his landmark evening, he entered the record books of his franchise, for the most points in one game, matching the mark of Normand Dupont established a season before. The franchise (now the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) record still stands 39 years later.
He has always been recognized on the ice for his exemplary conduct, which also earned him the title of “most sportsmanlike player” for the 1974-75 season. In three campaigns in the QMJHL, he only had 28 penalty minutes, averaging less than 10 minutes per season.
He was drafted in the National Hockey League by the Detroit Red Wings, but also by the World Hockey Association (WHA) by the Toronto Toros. And it is in the late WHA that he got his chance, but after two seasons of 78 games with Toronto and Birmingham, he decided to change careers.
Ahead of his time, he was able to combine a career as a major junior hockey player all the while pursuing his studies. Long before the Sports Studies programs that we know today were implemented, he was an exception for his time. He became a physician and still practices his profession in Montreal, the city of his birth.
Jean-Luc Phaneuf will be remembered as model for generations of young players from the QMJHL.
NORMAND CAISSE
Canadian on-ice Official born on November 9, 1947 in Montreal (Quebec).
For 12 seasons, Normand Caisse was a worthy representative of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as an on-ice official.
In the early beginnings of the QMJHL in 1969, Caisse began his career as a linesman, before taking responsibilities as a referee starting with the 1973-74 season.
From 1969-70 to 1980-81 he was involved in 291 regular and post season games in the QMJHL. Let us remember the context in which the officials of his generation had to work; the games being played with great toughness. Brawls were common on the ice, and supporters were very critical indeed of the officials’ decisions, going as far as to throw objects at men in the striped jerseys.
He was highly respected throughout his career. The league executives, including president and founder Robert LeBel praised him highly, and gave him the most important games over which to preside.
In 1976 to 1977 he was appointed to manage the most games on the ice (46) which at the time allowed him to inscribe a new QMJHL record for the most games as a referee for a season, with 39 regular season games and 7 playoff games.
In May 1979, the Canadian Hockey League asked him to officiate during 2 games of the Memorial Cup.
He also made his mark at the international level, where in 1976 and 1979 he represented Canada as an on-ice referee for a world junior tournament,. Caisse was even chosen to officiate during the Russia-Sweden final in 1979.
In everyday life, he has made a career in the world of education. For 28 years, he served as director of elementary schools in Longueuil. In addition, he became involved in local politics for more than a decade, having served as a councilor for the city of Longueuil from 1994 to 2009.
PATRICE BRISEBOIS
Canadian, born on January 27th, 1971 in Montreal, Québec. 6’02 and 175 lbs defenseman during his major junior career. In 1989 during the NHL Entry Draft, he was selected in the 2th round, 30th overall by the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1987 after being selected in the 3rd round, he began his major junior career with the Laval Titan. He quickly took an important place in the defensive corps, a team that was about to become a power house under the auspices of the Morrissette family.
In his career regular season, he played 208 games in the QMJHL, where he racked up 258 points. He reaped almost an assist per game, collecting a total of 193. On December 4,1989, he had a magic evening of seven points; 1 goal and 6 assists in a 12-0 win of Laval over Granby. He completed the 1989-90 season with a personal career-high of 88 points in 56 games .
His teams were very successful in the playoffs and he was a key element of that success with teammates like Martin Lapointe, Donald Audette, Denis Chalifoux, Gino Odjick, to name a few. Brisebois successively obtained 22 and 16 points in the playoffs, in 1989 and 1990. In 1991, he was acquired through trade by the Drummondville Voltigeurs; he became the “quarterback” of the team and had his best playoffs with 24 points in ony 14 games.
He won the President Cup twice with Laval, in 1989 and 1990. He had the chance to participate for the third time in the final series of the playoffs of the QMJHL in 1991, but this attempt fell just short in the red and black uniform of Drummondville.
He is one of the few players to have participated in the Memorial Cup on 3 occasions; scoring no less than 12 points in 13 games in total. He wasn’t able to hoist the trophy on the third attempt with Drummondville, but he was selected to be part of the All-Star team.
To conclude his major junior career in the 1990-91 season, where he played 10 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, he was named “Defenseman of the Year” by the QMJHL. The same title was awarded to him in the Canadian Hockey League, ahead of Darryl Sydor (WHL) and Chris Snell (OHL).
Team Canada Juniors called on him on two occasions to attend the World Championship. Both times, in 1990 and 1991, he returned home with the gold medal around his neck .
In the National Hockey League
His NHL career was long and eventful. He has played at least one game in 18 different seasons, surpassing the 1000 regular season games milestone during his final season in 2008-09. He played most of his games with the Montreal Canadiens, and for two seasons he donned the uniform of the Colorado Avalanche. It is with the Avalanche in 2005-06 that he recorded his best statistics; 38 points in 80 games.
Reliable, honest and respected, Patrice Brisebois was consistent, with eight seasons of 30 points or more. A career of 420 points during the regular season, to which he added 32 more in the playoffs.
Let’s remember he debuted with the Canadiens, when he was only 22 years old… Les Glorieux won the Stanley Cup for the 24th time in their history in the spring of 1993. That edition of the Canadiens had a large squad of players from the QMJHL, including Guy Carbonneau, Eric Desjardins, Vincent Damphousse, Stephan Lebeau and Patrick Roy, all men who have entered into the QMJHL Hall of Fame.