Alfred Michel Thurier (January 11, 1916 in Ste-Anne-de-Stukely near

Granby, Quebec Granby () is a town in the southwestern region of Quebec east of Montreal. According to the latest statistics from the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Canadian Census, Granby has a population of 69,025. It is the administrative center of La Haute-Yam ...

– November 20, 1999 in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

) was a Canadian 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 ...

centre. He played 80 games 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 ...

for the New York Americans/Brooklyn Americans and

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 ...

between 1940 and 1945. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1940 to 1952, was mainly spent in the minor

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

Playing career

Thurier played parts of three seasons with the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

and Rangers during the 1940s. He was best known for his offensive output in the AHL. He led the AHL in scoring with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...

during the 1940–41 season. For the 1942–43 and 1943–44 seasons Thurier was with the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

as part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and played on military teams in Montreal. He returned to the AHL after the war ended, and helped the Cleveland Barons to

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

victories in 1948 and 1951. In 80 NHL games, Thurier recorded 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Achievements and awards

*AHL First All-Star Team (1941) *AHL Second All-Star Team (1942, 1951) * AHL Hall of Fame (2020)

References

External links

* 1916 births 1999 deaths Brooklyn Americans players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian military personnel of World War II Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Granby, Quebec New York Americans players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen New York Rangers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Springfield Indians players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1910s-stub