Claude Lapointe

Claude Lapointe (born October 11, 1968) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. In his career, Lapointe played for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Flyers.

Claude Lapointe
Born (1968-10-11) October 11, 1968
Lachine, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Quebec Nordiques
Colorado Avalanche
Calgary Flames
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers
SC Bern
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 234th overall, 1988
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 1989–2007

Early life

Lapointe grew up in the city of Lachine, Quebec. As a child all he did was play hockey. As a teenager his first job was not an average job. It was playing in the QMJHL. Players in this league got paid just like players in the NHL do, just not as much money. Other than this, Lapointe had no other occupations other than hockey.. He was offered a scholarship by the University of Michigan but he refused it.

Playing career

He was drafted by the Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche) in the 12th round of the 1988 NHL Draft, with the 234th overall pick. Lapointe spent most of his NHL career with the New York Islanders. He was there from the 1996–97 season to the 2002–03 season. While with the New York Islanders, he received many honors such as many NYI Fan club MVP awards and three Bob Nystrom awards, which is awarded to the player who most exemplifies leadership, hustle, and dedication. He also received awards for reaching the 800 game mark, (over 1000 NHL games including reg. season, playoffs, and pre-season), over 100 goals. Other achievements include being named Assistant captain with the Islanders, ranking among the Top 3 in the NHL for face-off win percentage for 15 years consecutively - his entire NHL career. Similarly, Lapointe was among the league's elite in terms of physical conditioning. In 1999, he represented Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Norway, only to lose to Sweden in the bronze medal game.

Lapointe was a strategic player with great anticipation skills, incredible skating skills and played every shift with intensity. He had an in-your-face hockey style but was well-liked and well-respected by coaches, teammates, referees, and management around the league. During the 2002–03 season he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and in 2004, Lapointe retired from the NHL.

Personal life

Lapointe has two sons: Kirk and Kody. He coaches and trains aspiring hockey players both on ice and off ice. His training and technical approach has raised eyebrows and gotten much notice from junior and NHL general managers. Lapointe's ability to rapidly develop and hone talent far exceeds the norm - He consistently takes Midget BB kids and transforms them into high Midget Espoir and AAA draft choices in as little as three months with targeted on and off ice regimens. Lapointe credits his motivational approach and his attention to detail as the keys to successfully understanding what each player needs to keep them improving beyond what they think they are capable of achieving.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Trois-Rivières Draveurs QMJHL 72 19 38 57 74 5 2 4 6 14
1986–87 Trois-Rivières Draveurs QMJHL 70 47 57 104 123 — — — — —
1987–88 Laval Titan QMJHL 69 37 83 120 143 13 2 17 19 53
1988–89 Laval Titan QMJHL 63 32 72 104 158 17 5 14 19 66
1989–90 Halifax Citadels AHL 63 18 19 37 51 6 1 1 2 34
1990–91 Halifax Citadels AHL 43 17 17 34 46 — — — — —
1990–91 Quebec Nordiques NHL 13 2 2 4 4 — — — — —
1991–92 Quebec Nordiques NHL 78 13 20 33 86 — — — — —
1992–93 Quebec Nordiques NHL 74 10 26 36 98 6 2 4 6 8
1993–94 Quebec Nordiques NHL 59 11 17 28 70 — — — — —
1994–95 Quebec Nordiques NHL 29 4 8 12 41 5 0 0 0 8
1995–96 Colorado Avalanche NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1995–96 Saint John Flames AHL 12 5 3 8 10 — — — — —
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 32 4 5 9 20 2 0 0 0 0
1996–97 Utah Grizzlies IHL 9 7 6 13 14 — — — — —
1996–97 New York Islanders NHL 73 13 5 18 49 — — — — —
1997–98 New York Islanders NHL 78 10 10 20 47 — — — — —
1998–99 New York Islanders NHL 82 14 23 37 62 — — — — —
1999–00 New York Islanders NHL 76 15 16 31 60 — — — — —
2000–01 New York Islanders NHL 80 9 23 32 56 — — — — —
2001–02 New York Islanders NHL 80 9 12 21 60 7 0 0 0 14
2002–03 New York Islanders NHL 66 6 6 12 20 — — — — —
2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 14 2 2 4 16 13 2 3 5 14
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 42 5 3 8 32 1 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 2 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2006–07 SC Bern NLA 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Trois-Rivières Caron & Guay LNAH 18 1 12 13 27 — — — — —
NHL totals 879 127 178 305 721 34 4 7 11 44
gollark: Opusos is bad. Potatos is good.
gollark: The recycle bin only appears if you delete stuff.
gollark: It's in hidden mode.
gollark: You can't, potatOS already infected your computer.
gollark: It is better now.


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