Junior Lessard

Canadian ice hockey player

Ice hockey player

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

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

|  | 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

[edit]

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.
10. ^ "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
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

## External links

[edit]

* 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

* 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

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template