Réjean Houle

Réjean Houle
Date of birth	October 25, 1949
place of birth	Rouyn-Noranda , Quebec , Canada
size	180 cm
Weight	75 kg
position	Right wing
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1969 , 1st lap, 1st position Montréal Canadiens
Career stations
1966-1967	Thetford Mines Canadiens
1967-1969	Montréal Junior Canadiens
1969-1973	Montréal Canadiens
1973-1976	Québec Nordiques
1976-1983	Montréal Canadiens

Réjean Houle (born October 25, 1949 in Rouyn-Noranda , Québec ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (right winger) who played for the Montréal Canadiens in the National Hockey League and the Québec Nordiques in the World Hockey Association from 1969 to 1983 .

Career

As a junior he played for the Montréal Junior Canadiens in the OHA . The team had all the juniors they were talking about at the time. Winning the Memorial Cup was no surprise. While his teammate Gilbert Perreault was too young for the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft and was drawn as a top player in the coming year, the only question in 1969 was whether Houle or Marc Tardif would be selected first that year. In the first draft, which was roughly the same as today's NHL Entry Draft , the Montreal Canadiens picked Houle first and Tardif with the second pick.

He felt the pressure that was on him, and spent the 1969/70 season mostly in the American Hockey League with the Montreal Voyageurs . He only played nine games in the NHL and his yield was only a template. In the following years he made his breakthrough in the NHL and was able to win the Stanley Cup twice . He played in a series with Henri Richard and Claude Larose . But despite visible increases, things were going too slowly for the people in Montreal: he was unable to fully meet the great expectations placed in him.

The Quebec Nordiques offered him a new chance in the World Hockey Association . From the 1973/74 season he played in the new league and developed well. On the second year his former companion Marc Tardif was back in his team, in the 1975/76 season he managed over 100 points.

With the new confidence, he decided to return to the Canadiens in the NHL. Montreal was the reigning Stanley Cup winner and with Houle in their ranks, the Habs won the title three more times in a row. He stayed with his team until 1983 before ending his active career.

He then worked for the Molson Brewery . In 1995 he took over the post of general manager with the Canadiens, but only a few weeks later there was a dispute between Patrick Roy and the coach. Roy pushed for a change and Houle had to let the star go. He stayed in Montreal as GM until 2000.

statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
NHL Regular Season	11	635	161	247	408	395
NHL playoffs	10	90	14th	34	48	66
WHA regular season	3	214	118	139	257	115
WHA playoffs	2	20th	12	6th	18th	10

Sporting successes

• Memorial Cup : 1969
• Stanley Cup : 1971 , 1973 , 1977 , 1978 and 1979

Personal awards

• Red Tilson Trophy : 1969
• OHA Jr. First All-Star Team: 1969
• Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy : 1969
• WHA All-Star Game MVP: 1975

Web links

• Réjean Houle at hockeydb.com (English)
• Réjean Houle at legendsofhockey.net (English)