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Guy Lafleur takes trip down Memorial Cup memory lane at Colisee

Guy Lafleur (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Guy Lafleur (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

QUEBEC CITY — Guy Lafleur has many memories attached to his time playing in the Colisee in Quebec City. It was here, in 1971, that he was a part of the Quebec Remparts team that won the Memorial Cup.

It was a different time for hockey, as the Remparts won the Eastern Canadian Championship because the St. Catharines Black Hawks forfeited their series after Game 5 because of threats from the Front de libération du Québec. The Remparts ended up beating Edmonton in a best-of-three Memorial Cup final played at the Colisee.

“We were considered the ‘Black Aces’ of junior hockey because they were saying we can’t compete with the Ontario teams or the team from out west,” said Lafleur, who scored 130 goals in 62 games that season. “I think we proved that year we could compete against any team.”

Lafleur held court with reporters on the ice at the Colisee before the semifinal between the WHL champion and the QMJHL host Remparts. The historic Colisee is scheduled for demolition as the new 18,482-seat state-of-the-art Videotron Centre, just next door, is set to open in the fall.

“There are so many memories,” said the Hockey Hall of Famer. “Sure in 1971 we won the Memorial Cup, but just the atmosphere that was here when I played my whole junior career here was unbelievable. I don’t think I even saw that in the NHL or any place else.

“In the playoffs people would sleep outside to get tickets and every game that we played outside of Quebec City, they’d have six or seven (fan) buses following us all over the place. They were part of the team and the players were so proud.”

For those too young to remember, Lafleur was considered the Sidney Crosby of his time in junior. Back in those days there were no territorial rights between leagues, so teams were constantly trying to poach him from the Remparts.

That included former Canadiens top pick Rejean Houle who tried to convince Lafleur to leave the Remparts.

“They were trying to get me to their team – the Montreal Jr. Canadiens,” said Lafleur, who finished the 1971 season with 209 points. “They were telling me don’t go to the Jr. A league, don’t go to Quebec, it’s not as good, it’s not as prestigious. They said, ‘There’s only one league in junior hockey and it’s the Ontario league.”

But Lafleur, who hails from Thurso, Que., said he wanted to stay in Quebec and particularly in Quebec City. Thurso, a town with a population of less than 3,000, is only 45 minutes away from Ottawa, which meant there were other suitors for Lafleur’s talents.

“The Ottawa 67’s approached me at one point to go and play my junior career there,” said Lafleur. “They were saying the same thing, but I was happy I came here.”

Lafleur says hockey has changed immensely in the decades that have passed since he last played. He’s never seen Connor McDavid play, but he says he knows how critical it is for young talent to be developed properly.

“It depends where they get drafted,” said Lafleur speaking generally. “Sometimes it takes a while for the players to get going or to get the ice time. I know in today’s hockey they don’t have much choice, they have to play their place especially with the money they’re paying them.

“The last couple years there are many great talents that (have come) out of any junior league in Canada and it’s great to see them performing and playing at their best.”