Junior Lessard
Lucien Lessard Jr.[1][2][3] (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who last played for the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH.
| Junior Lessard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
May 26, 1980 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 | ||
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.
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.
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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WCHA All-Tournament Team | 2003 | [8] |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2003–04 | |
| AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2003–04 | |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2004 | [9] |
- 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[10]
- National Player of the Year honors in 2004 by College Hockey Online[11] and Inside College Hockey[12]
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 2011-07-06..
- "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- "Islanders acquire Lessard from Thrashers for Skinner". TSN.ca. 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- "Ilves sign Canadian Junior Lessard" (in Finnish). Ilves. 2009-10-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- "Augsburger Panther with last minute commitment" (in German). Augsburger Panther. 2010-02-01. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/9NCAA/2004/hobey_0232.htm
- US College Hockey Online
- Inside College Hockey
External links
- Junior Lessard career statistics at EliteProspects.com
- Junior Lessard career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Junior Lessard player profile at NHL.com
| 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 |