Last night, three former players, a coach, and a builder were inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame; Corey Crawford, Mathieu Benoit, Patrick Lebeau, Claude Julien, and Raymond Bolduc were welcomed amongst the junior league legends.
In that list, there are two former members of the Montreal Canadiens’ organization: Claude Julien and Patrick Lebeau. As you’ll no doubt remember, Julien was at the helm of the Canadiens twice in his career. From 2002-03 to 2005-06, he served as the head coach of his first NHL coaching job. He was fired mid-way through his third season after posting a 19-16-6 record in 41 games. He spent the following season behind the New Jersey Devils’ bench before moving on to the Boston Bruins, where he spent parts of 10 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010-11. On his way to the championship, he eliminated the Habs in the first round in a thrilling first-round series, which ended with a Nathan Horton overtime goal.
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The Bruins dismissed him after 55 games of the 2016-17 season, and the Canadiens wasted no time in hiring him again to replace Michel Therrien, who was fired on Valentine’s Day. Julien’s second stay in Montreal would last for part of five seasons, and he was eventually replaced by Dominique Ducharme, his assistant, who would guide the team to a surprising Stanley Cup final run. In his second stint, Julien kept a 129-113-35 record and a .529 winning percentage. After his dismissal, he stayed on the sidelines for three seasons before being hired as an assistant coach by the St. Louis Blues.
In the QMJHL, he coached the Hull Olympics to a Memorial Cup title in 1997, and a few short years later, he graduated to the AHL, where he coached the Canadiens’ farm team as the Hamilton Bulldogs.
As for Patrick Lebeau, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t remember his passage in the Canadiens’ organization. While he was an outstanding player in junior hockey and a great points producer (he put up 500 points in the QMJHL in 257 games), he was only 5-foot-10, and his talent never translated to the NHL.
An eight-round pick at the 1989 draft, Lebeau would only end up playing two games with the Canadiens. After short stints with the Calgary Flames and the Florida Panthers, he ended up leaving for Europe before the 1994-95 season and found success there. Still, his incredible numbers in the Q fully deserved to be recognized and remembered, and the induction was more than appropriate.
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