Junior Lessard

Junior Lessard
Junior Lessard
Born	May 26, 1980 (age 44); Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Right wing/Centre
Shot	Right
LNAH team; Former teams	Thetford Mines Isothermic; Dallas Stars; Tampa Bay Lightning; Ilves; Augsburger Panther
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2004–2011

Lucien Lessard Jr.^[1]^[2]^[3] (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH.

Playing career

As a youth, Lessard played in the 1993 and 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Beauce, Quebec.^[4]

Lessard attended the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he led the NCAA in goals (32) and points (63) as a senior during the 2003–04 season, numbers that would be good enough to win the Hobey Baker Award. He also led the WCHA in the same categories with 19 goals and 39 points in conference play.^[5]

On April 15, 2004, Lessard signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Stars and made his NHL debut during the 2005–06 season.

Lessard was traded to Tampa Bay on January 15, 2008 in exchange for Dan Jancevski.^[6]

Lessard signed a contract with the Atlanta Thrashers on July 9, 2008 and was assigned to affiliate the Chicago Wolves to start the 2008–09 season.

On January 13, 2009, Lessard was traded by the Thrashers to the New York Islanders for Brett Skinner and was immediately sent to the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.^[7]

On October 7, 2009, Lessard signed a one-year contract with SM-liiga team Ilves, but was released on November 4 due to injury after only four games.^[8]

On January 13, 2010, Lessard signed with Canadian semi-pro team the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH.

On February 1, 2010, after recovering from injury, Lessard signed with German team Augsburger Panther of the DEL for the remainder of the season.^[9]

Awards and honors

Award	Year
WCHA All-Tournament Team	2003	^[10]
All-WCHA First Team	2003–04
AHCA West First-Team All-American	2003–04
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	2004	^[11]

1998–99 -MJHL All-Rookie Team
1999–00 -MJHL First All-Star Team
1999–00 -MJHL Most Valuable Player
Named Canadian Junior A Hockey League Player of the Year with the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League
2003–04 -WCHA Player of the Year
2003–04 -NCAA Hobey Baker Award^[12]
National Player of the Year honors in 2004 by College Hockey Online^[13] and Inside College Hockey^[14]

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Portage Terriers	MJHL	60	20	41	61	129	—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Portage Terriers	MJHL	60	60	48	108	61	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	University of Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	36	4	8	12	12	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	University of Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	39	17	13	30	50	—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	University of Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	40	21	16	37	20	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	University of Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	45	32	31	63	34	—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Houston Aeros	AHL	71	11	11	22	25	5	1	0	1	0
2005–06	Dallas Stars	NHL	5	1	0	1	12	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Iowa Stars	AHL	66	26	32	58	30	7	3	4	7	4
2006–07	Dallas Stars	NHL	1	1	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Iowa Stars	AHL	65	27	25	52	32	12	4	5	9	4
2007–08	Dallas Stars	NHL	2	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Iowa Stars	AHL	36	10	11	21	15	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL	19	1	1	2	9	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	19	6	9	15	4	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Chicago Wolves	AHL	41	6	5	11	10	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL	21	7	6	13	2	1	0	1	1	0
2009–10	Ilves	SM-l	4	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH	4	2	1	3	0	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Augsburger Panther	DEL	4	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH	4	0	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Idaho Steelheads	ECHL	22	10	10	20	16	—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH	25	12	11	23	6	8	1	3	4	0
2012–13	Thetford Mines Isothermic	LNAH	2	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	St-Joseph Justiciers	LHBBF	8	4	7	11	6	10	3	2	5	4
2016–17	St-Joseph Justiciers	LHBBF	11	1	9	10	6	4	0	2	2	2
AHL totals			319	93	99	192	118	25	8	10	18	8
NHL totals			27	3	1	4	23	—	—	—	—	—

References

^ "LNH : Liste des joueurs québécois et des joueurs francophones - Saison 2010-2011" (in French)..
^ "Feature On Junior Lessard"..
^ "Lucien Junior Lessard, hockeyeur évoluant dans la ligue nationale a reçu le Sommet Ambassadeur de la Ville Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce" (in French). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011..
^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
^ "Around the WCHA". St. Cloud Times. March 9, 2004. p. 25. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "NHL". The Victoria Advocate. Dallas. January 16, 2008. p. 19. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Islanders acquire Lessard from Thrashers for Skinner". TSN.ca. January 13, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
^ "Ilves sign Canadian Junior Lessard" (in Finnish). Ilves. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
^ "Augsburger Panther with last minute commitment" (in German). Augsburger Panther. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
^ "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
^ "Inside College Hockey | Lessard Wins Hobey Baker Award". www.insidecollegehockey.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2004.
^ US College Hockey Online
^ Inside College Hockey

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Peter Sejna	WCHA Player of the Year 2003–04	Succeeded by Marty Sertich
Preceded by Peter Sejna	NCAA Ice Hockey Scoring Champion 2003–04	Succeeded by Marty Sertich
Preceded by Peter Sejna	Winner of the Hobey Baker Award 2003–04	Succeeded by Marty Sertich

[1] "LNH : Liste des joueurs québécois et des joueurs francophones - Saison 2010-2011" (in French)..

[2] "Feature On Junior Lessard"..

[3] "Lucien Junior Lessard, hockeyeur évoluant dans la ligue nationale a reçu le Sommet Ambassadeur de la Ville Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce" (in French). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011..

[4] "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.

[5] "Around the WCHA". St. Cloud Times. March 9, 2004. p. 25. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "NHL". The Victoria Advocate. Dallas. January 16, 2008. p. 19. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Islanders acquire Lessard from Thrashers for Skinner". TSN.ca. January 13, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.

[8] "Ilves sign Canadian Junior Lessard" (in Finnish). Ilves. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2010.

[9] "Augsburger Panther with last minute commitment" (in German). Augsburger Panther. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.

[tournament-10] "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Retrieved June 26, 2014.

[ncaa-11] "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.

[12] "Inside College Hockey | Lessard Wins Hobey Baker Award". www.insidecollegehockey.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2004.

[13] US College Hockey Online

[14] Inside College Hockey

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v t e Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Duluth Amphitheater (1930–1932) Duluth Curling and Skating Club (1946–1966) DECC Arena (1966–2010) AMSOIL Arena (2010–present)
Head coaches	Frank Kovach (1930–32) Joe Oven (1946–47) Hank Jensen (1947–51) Gord Eddolls (1951–54) Bob Boyat (1954–55) Connie Pleban (1955–59) Ralph Romano (1959–68) Bill Selman (1968–70) Terry Shercliffe (1970–75) Gus Hendrickson (1975–82) Mike Sertich (1982–2000) Scott Sandelin (2000–present)
Seasons	1930–31 1931–32 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	MIAC (1946–1961) WCHA (1965–2013) NCHC (2013–present)
Rivalries	Minnesota
Culture & lore	North Star College Cup
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dan Lempe (222 Points) Thomas Milani (100 Goals) Hunter Shepard (76 Wins)
Retired numbers	9 Keith Christiansen 14 Bill Watson 29 Brett Hull
National championships	2011 2018 2019
Frozen Four appearances	1984 1985 2004 2011 2017 2018 2019 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances	1983 1984 1985 1993 2004 2009 2011 2012 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1984 1985 2009 NCHC: 2017 2019 2022
Hobey Baker winners	Tom Kurvers (1984) Bill Watson (1985) Chris Marinucci (1994) Junior Lessard (2004) Jack Connolly (2012) Scott Perunovich (2020)
University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN

Junior Lessard

Born	(1980-05-26) May 26, 1980 (age 44) Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Right wing/Centre
Shot	Right
LNAH team Former teams	Thetford Mines Isothermic Dallas Stars Tampa Bay Lightning Ilves Augsburger Panther
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2004–2011