Russell William Courtnall (born June 2, 1965) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player. He played for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. Courtnall was born in

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan (pop. 5,047 in 2021) is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area (2.07 square kilometres, 0.8 square miles) in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912. Location The city is about 45 ki ...

, but grew up in

Oak Bay, British Columbia Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is borde ...

Professional career

Courtnall was born in

. Coming out of junior hockey, he was considered one of the top prospects in 1983 and the

selected him seventh overall in the

1983 NHL Entry Draft The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was the 21st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL Entry Draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did ...

. In the 1982–83 season with the Cougars, Courtnall scored 36 goals and 61 assists for 97 points in 60 games. After being drafted by the Leafs, Courtnall appeared in just 32 games with the Cougars, scoring 29 goals and 66 points before being called up to the Maple Leafs, who were in dire need of scoring help at the time. As a rookie with Toronto, he scored 12 goals and 22 points in 69 games. Although his goal production was not as high as the Maple Leafs had hoped for, his speed opened up opportunities, especially for his linemates. In 1984, Courtnall also suited up for the Canadian Olympic team, which finished out of the medals at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки иг� ...

. Upon returning, he rejoined the Maple Leafs. In the 1985–86 season, playing alongside fellow

Notre Dame Hounds The Notre Dame Hounds are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Canada. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The Hounds also had a junior "B" team that played in the South Saskatchewan Junior ...

alumni

Gary Leeman Gary Spencer Leeman (born February 19, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the NHL. In 1990, he became the second Toronto Maple Leaf player ever to score 50 goals or more in a single NHL season, after Rick Vaive did it in 1 ...

and rookie

Wendel Clark Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

on what was dubbed The Hound Line, Courtnall broke the 20-goal barrier, notching 22 to go along with 38 assists for 60 points. His offensive numbers improved the following year with 29 goals and 73 points. In trying to force Courtnall to play a tougher brand of hockey, the club saw his offensive production decrease in the 1987–88 season. After just nine games into the 1988–89 season, on November 7, 1988, the Maple Leafs dealt Courtnall to the

for enforcer

John Kordic John Nicholas Kordic (March 22, 1965 – August 8, 1992) was a Canadian ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. Hockey career Kordic played for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and Quebec Nordiques, for a ...

. Although Courtnall's stock had clearly gone down in the eyes of Maple Leafs' management, most observers felt Montreal got a steal in that trade. In 64 games, Courtnall put up 39 points with the Canadiens, but his fast skating and stickhandling abilities made him a fan favourite. Courtnall played strongly in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, where the Canadiens advanced to the

1989 Stanley Cup Finals The 1989 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1988–89 season, and the culmination of the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, th ...

where they lost to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

. In 21 postseason games, Courtnall contributed eight goals and 13 points. Courtnall played for the Canadiens until 1991–92 season when on August 31, 1992, he was traded to the

for the 1992–93 season. In 84 games, he managed a career-high 36 goals and 43 assists for 79 points. He followed that up with an 80-point season in the team's first year of play in Dallas, and was selected to play in the 1994 National Hockey League All-Star Game. Late in the 1994–95 season, on April 7, 1995, Courtnall was traded to the

where he teamed up with his brother,

Geoff Courtnall Geoffrey Lawton Courtnall (born August 18, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL as well as ...

, for 13 games that year. On March 8, 1997, the Canucks traded Courtnall to the

, and on November 7, 1997, Courtnall signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

with the

, where he played until his retirement following the 1998–99 season. He finished with 297 goals, 447 assists and 744 points in a 15-year NHL career. Courtnall was a participant in both the second and third seasons of

Battle of the Blades ''Battle of the Blades'' (or ''BOTB'' for short) is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. The show originally aired for four seasons between 2009 and 2013. It was revived for a fifth season in 2019. ...

, the latter as a last-minute replacement for the late Wade Belak, but was eliminated early in the competition on both occasions.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtnall, Russ 1965 births Living people Battle of the Blades participants Canadian ice hockey right wingers Dallas Stars players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings players Montreal Canadiens players Minnesota North Stars players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players of Canada People from Duncan, British Columbia Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks players Victoria Cougars (WHL) players

Professional career

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

See also

External links