Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau (born July 26, 1940) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), most notably for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

. He won the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving ...

in 1962 as NHL Rookie of the Year.

Playing career

Early career

Rousseau started his career with the St. Jean Braves of the Quebec Junior Hockey League in 1955-56 where he led the league in scoring with 53 goals and 85 points in 44 games. The next season, Rousseau moved on with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens. Hull-Ottawa reached the 1957 Memorial Cup final against the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters losing game 7 3–2. The Canadiens returned to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

in 1957-58 defeating the Regina Pats in 6 games. In 1960, Rousseau was loaned to the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, the team that represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

in Squaw Valley. Canada finished with a silver medal, while the USA won gold and the Soviets bronze. Rousseau scored 5 goals, 4 of which came in a 19–1 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and 9 points in 7 games during Canada's Olympic run.

NHL career

In 1960-61, Rousseau earned his first chance in the

with the

. Rousseau played in 15 games earning 3 points. During his first full NHL season in 1961-2, he scored 21 goals and 24 assists and was awarded the

as the top rookie in the NHL that year. Rousseau had a less productive 1962-3 season as he scored only 37 points. In 1963-64, Rousseau scored 25 goals and 56 points. Rousseau also had a 5-goal game against the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

on February 1, 1964. The Canadiens reached the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

in 1964-65 against the Chicago Black Hawks. The series went to 7 games, which the Canadiens won, giving Rousseau his first

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. Rousseau was also invited to the 1965 All-Star Game. During the 1965-66 NHL season, Rousseau's 78 points tied him with Stan Mikita for second overall in the scoring race.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.184, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, His hard work earned him a spot on the NHL Second All-Star Team that season. Rousseau helped the Canadiens defend their Stanley Cup title as they beat the

in 6 games. The Canadiens returned to the Finals for a third straight time in 1966-67 but lost to 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

in 6 games. However, Rousseau and the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup the following two seasons. After the 1969-70 NHL season, his ninth with the Canadiens, during which he scored 24 goals, Rousseau was traded to the Minnesota North Stars where he spent the 1970-71 season. He was then traded to the

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

in exchange for right winger Bob Nevin and helped the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1971-72 which the Rangers lost in 6 games to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, with Rousseau amassing 17 points during the playoff run. After playing 8 games in 1974-75, Rousseau retired.

Personal life

Rousseau is the brother of former NHL players

Rollie Rollie is a nickname, often for Roland or Rolland, and occasionally a given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as w ...

and Guy Rousseau.

Awards and achievements

champion — 1958 (with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens) * EPHL Second All-Star Team — 1961 *

—

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

* NHL All-Star Games —

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, 1969 * NHL Second All-Star Team —

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

champion —

, 1968, 1969 (with the

) *On February 1, 1964, Rousseau scored five goals in one game

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Bobby 1940 births Living people Calder Trophy winners Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Montreal Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Minnesota North Stars players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Montreal Canadiens players New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Canada Rochester Americans players Stanley Cup champions