Real Cloutier

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CanadaCanada  Real Cloutier Ice hockey player
Date of birth July 30, 1956
place of birth Saint-Émile , Québec , Canada
Nickname Buddy
size 178 cm
Weight 84 kg
position striker
Shot hand Left
Draft
WHA Amateur Draft 1974 , 1st lap, 9th position
Nordiques de Québec
NHL Amateur Draft 1976 , 1st round, 9th position
Chicago Black Hawks
Career stations
1972-1974 Remparts de Quebec
1974-1983 Nordiques de Québec
1983-1984 Buffalo Sabers
1984-1985 Flint Generals
Rochester Americans

Réal "Buddy" Cloutier (born July 30, 1956 in Saint-Émile , Québec ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (right winger), who from 1974 to 1985 for the Nordiques de Québec in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association and the Buffalo Sabers played in the National Hockey League.

Career

Cloutier began his junior career with the Remparts de Québec in the Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec . There the then 16-year-old shone in his first season with 39 goals and 99 points. His team reached the final of the Memorial Cup . But their opponent, the Toronto Marlboros , with the young Mark Howe , outclassed the Remparts with 9: 1. The following year Cloutier led his team with 93 goals and an impressive 216 points again in the Memorial Cup tournament. They reached the final again, this time losing to the Regina Pats .

In the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft he was selected in the first round in ninth place by the Nordiques de Québec and since he was of the opinion that he could no longer develop in the junior area, he immediately dared the leap into the World Hockey Association . The rules of the NHL allowed for an election in the NHL Amateur Draft 1976 at the earliest . Cloutier immediately made the breakthrough. With 53 points he played a decent rookie season and in the season 1975/76 he shone with 114 points. But there was one flaw he couldn't get rid of. In his first WHA season he had lost a final series for the third time in a row.

In the NHL, of course, he was also noticed. And so the Chicago Black Hawks secured the rights to him in the 1976 draft in the first round. As in the WHA, it was also the ninth draft position in the NHL that he was selected. But Cloutier stayed with the Nordiques and in the 1976/77 season he had a large share in winning his first title. With 141 points he was the top scorer of the WHA and also contributed 14 goals in the playoffs. He played in the WHA for two years before it merged with the NHL. In Quebec, the first-round draft pick was sacrificed in 1980 so that the Black Hawks would not assert their rights to Cloutier. With Denis Savard , they were properly compensated in Chicago.

In the Nordiques' first season in the NHL, 1979/80 , he was his team's best scorer. A year later he was plagued by frequent injuries, but he returned to his high level in the 1981/82 season and brought it to 97 points.

After another year in Quebec, he switched to the Buffalo Sabers . There he had the impression that his performance was decreasing. The 1984/85 season turned into a major disappointment and he was used on the Sabers farm teams , with the Flint Generals in the International Hockey League and the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League . The once talented Cloutier ended his career at the age of 28. He was often accused of giving up too soon. Many suspected mental problems rather than physical break-in. In the years in the NHL he had proven his skills, but he could no longer come close to the outstanding position he had earned in the WHA.

statistics

Seasons Games Gates Assists Points Penalty minutes
NHL Regular Season 5 317 146 198 344 119
NHL playoffs 4th 25th 7th 5 12 20th
WHA regular season 5 369 283 283 566 169
WHA playoffs 5 48 33 30th 63 29

Sporting successes

Personal awards

Records

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cloutier, Réal
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cloutier, Real
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Émile , Québec