Michel Larocque

Michel Larocque
Date of birth	April 6, 1952
place of birth	Hull , Quebec , Canada
date of death	July 29, 1992
Place of death	Hull , Quebec , Canada
Nickname	Bunny
size	180 cm
Weight	84 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1972 , 1st lap, 6th position Canadiens de Montréal
Career stations
1967-1972	Ottawa 67's
1972-1973	Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1973-1981	Canadiens de Montréal
1981-1983	Toronto Maple Leafs
1983-1984	Philadelphia Flyers
1984	St. Louis Blues
1984-1985	Peoria Rivermen

Michel Raymond "Bunny" Larocque (born April 6, 1952 in Hull , Québec ; † July 29, 1992 ibid) was a Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who worked for the Canadiens de Montréal , Toronto Maple Leafs , Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis from 1973 to 1984 Blues played in the National Hockey League .

Career

During his junior years he played with Denis Potvin for the Ottawa 67’s . He was one of the most talented young goalkeepers of his class. In the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft , the Canadiens de Montréal took him sixth in the first round.

He was also nominated for the 1972 Summit Series training camp . His first season as a professional he played with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in the AHL . After a strong season there, the Canadiens brought him to the NHL for the 1973/74 season . The number one goal of the team, Ken Dryden , took a year off and so he came as number two behind Wayne Thomas to 27 appearances. When Dryden returned for the following season, he was the sole number two behind the league's top goalkeeper. During this time, the goalkeeping duo won the Vezina Trophy three times and the Canadiens won four Stanley Cups.

After Dryden had finished his career, Larocque played most games for the Canadiens in the 1979/80 season . But the new number two Denis Herron had almost the same number of games. Richard Sévigny vied with the two of them for the regular place and was able to book the regular place for himself in the following season. After Rick Wamsley was another goalkeeper about to join the squad, the Canadiens and Larocque parted ways.

At the Toronto Maple Leafs , he replaced Jiří Crha in goal. The Leafs' defense was weak and he had to reach behind very often. During the 1982/83 season he moved to the Philadelphia Flyers , for whom he only played twice and where he could not get past Pelle Lindbergh . In the 1983/84 season he started with the St. Louis Blues . Mostly he played in the AHL with the Springfield Indians and in the IHL with the Peoria Rivermen . There he ended his career in 1985.

Michel Larocque died in 1992 at the age of 40 of a brain tumor in his hometown of Hull .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutouts
Regular season	11	312	0.513	3.33	17th
Playoffs	4th	14th	0.429	2.92	1

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1976 , 1977 , 1978 and 1979

Personal awards

• OHA Jr. Second All-Star Team: 1971
• OMJHL First All-Star Team: 1972
• AHL Second All-Star Team : 1973
• Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award : 1973 together with Michel Deguise
• Vezina Trophy  : 1977, 1978 and 1979 together with Ken Dryden and 1981 together with Denis Herron and Richard Sévigny

Web links

• Michel Larocque at hockeydb.com (English)
• Michel Larocque at hockeygoalies.org
• Michel Larocque at legendsofhockey.net (English)