Lucien Lessard Jr. (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, 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 last played for the

Thetford Mines Isothermic Assurancia de Thetford or The Thetford Assurancia (previously ''Thetford Mines Isothermic'') are a professional ice hockey team based in Thetford Mines, Quebec. The team is part of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). The team plays at th ...

of the LNAH.

Playing career

As a youth, Lessard played in the 1993 and 1994

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Beauce, Quebec Beauce (; ) is a historical and traditional region of Quebec, Canada, located south of Quebec City. Most of it is part of the administrative region of Chaudière-Appalaches. It corresponds approximately to the regional county municipalities of ...

. Lessard attended the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...

, where he led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in goals (32) and points (63) as a senior during the 2003–04 season, numbers that would be good enough to win the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

. He also led the

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a men ...

in the same categories with 19 goals and 39 points in conference play. On April 15, 2004, Lessard signed a free agent contract with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

and made his

NHL 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 ...

debut during the 2005–06 season. Lessard was traded to Tampa Bay on January 15, 2008 in exchange for

Dan Jancevski Dan Jancevski (born June 15, 1981) is a Macedonian Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eleven seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) and also in nine National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Dallas Stars and Tamp ...

. Lessard signed a contract with the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

on July 9, 2008 and was assigned to affiliate the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

to start the 2008–09 season. On January 13, 2009, Lessard was traded by the Thrashers to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

for

Brett Skinner Thomas Brett Skinner (born June 28, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current head coach of the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He spent one season as the head coach of the Minnesota Wildern ...

and was immediately sent to the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 200 ...

. On October 7, 2009, Lessard signed a one-year contract with

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

team

Ilves Tampereen Ilves, commonly known as Ilves, (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Eurasian lynx, Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena. The colors of Ilves, ...

, but was released on November 4 due to injury after only four games. On January 13, 2010, Lessard signed with Canadian semi-pro team the

of the LNAH. On February 1, 2010, after recovering from injury, Lessard signed with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

team

Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, DEL. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburge ...

of the DEL for the remainder of the season.

Awards and honors

*1998–99 -

MJHL The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

All-Rookie Team *1999–00 -

First All-Star Team *1999–00 -

Most Valuable Player *Named Canadian Junior A Hockey League Player of the Year with the Portage Terriers of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

*2003–04 -WCHA Player of the Year *2003–04 -NCAA

*National Player of the Year honors in 2004 by College Hockey Online and Inside College HockeyInside College Hockey
/ref>

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Junior 1980 births Living people Augsburger Panther players Canadian ice hockey forwards Chicago Wolves players Dallas Stars players Hobey Baker Award winners Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Chaudière-Appalaches Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Ilves players Iowa Stars players Portage Terriers players Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Norfolk Admirals players People from Beauce, Quebec Tampa Bay Lightning players Undrafted National Hockey League players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland