Geoffrey Lawton Courtnall (born August 18, 1962) 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 ...

player 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) from

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. He was the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

(BCHL) and for the

Victoria Vikes The Victoria Vikes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Victoria of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in both men's and women's U Sports. ''Vikes'' was previously a longstanding nickname for both the men's teams (previously th ...

of the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL).

Playing career

Geoff Courtnall was signed by 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 ...

of the NHL as an

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free agent on July 6, 1983. He played for the Bruins from the 1983–84 season to March 8, 1988, when he was traded, along with Bill Ranford, to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

for Andy Moog. While in Edmonton, he helped the Oilers win the

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 ...

in 1988, after facing his old team the Bruins in the finals. About four months later, the Oilers traded Courtnall to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

for Greg Adams. After two seasons in Washington, Courtnall requested a trade, which was granted in the 1990 off-season when he was sent to the St. Louis Blues for Mike Lalor and Peter Zezel. After less than a season in St. Louis and at the trade deadline, Courtnall, along with Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, and future considerations, was traded to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

in exchange for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. This trade marked a major turning point for the Canucks as these players were among the core that would lead the Canucks on their run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Courtnall then played one more season in Vancouver after the Cup run of 1994 and went back to the St. Louis for the start of the 1995–96 season. Courtnall, in his second tenure with the Blues, scored almost 80 goals over five seasons, but only played 30 games over his final two seasons as the result of several concussions, but reached the 1,000 game mark during the 1997–98 season, in which he scored 31 goals in his last full season. After sitting out the last half of the 1998–99 season with a concussion he returned to the lineup the next season. A few games into the 1999–2000 season, he suffered another concussion, which forced his retirement as a result of

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

Personal life

Courtnall was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada and raised in

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city in Canada by area. It was incorporated as a city in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilometres from b ...

. His father, Archie, had played professional hockey, and worked in the forestry industry on Vancouver Island. Archie had depression, and in 1978 killed himself. He is the brother of another former NHL player, Russ Courtnall. Geoff's son, Justin, was drafted 210th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

. After retiring Courtnall moved back to Victoria, though later moved to Vancouver. He estimated that during his playing career he had at least 20 concussions, and it had an effect on his post-playing career. He began to drink heavily, reaching a point where his former teammate

Cam Neely Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 1996. Neely was inducte ...

discussed Courtnall's drinking while at the

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in Vancouver. This led Courtnall to quit drinking; to take his mind off that, Courtnall would run. He also invested in a gold mining venture in Peru, as well as commercial real estate and construction. Along with his brother, Russ, Courtnall established the Archie Courtnall Centre for emergency psychiatric care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.

Sexual assault allegation

In May 1990, while playing for the Capitals, Courtnall was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl outside a bar, alongside teammates

Dino Ciccarelli Dino Ciccarelli ( , born February 8, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1999, primarily with the Minnesota North Stars, but also notably with the Detroit Red ...

, Scott Stevens, and Neil Sheehy. The court case fell apart, though a spokesperson for the Metropolitan police at the timewith no supporting evidence available for use at trialstated that the police "have sufficient grounds to believe that a criminal offense did occur."

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

champion – 1988

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtnall, Geoff 1962 births Living people Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

Cowichan Valley Capitals players Edmonton Oilers players Hershey Bears players Moncton Golden Flames players Sportspeople from Duncan, British Columbia Ice hockey people from Victoria, British Columbia St. Louis Blues players Stanley Cup champions Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players Victoria Cougars (WHL) players Washington Capitals players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen