Orval Tessier

Orval Tessier
Born	(1933-06-30)June 30, 1933 Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Died	August 25, 2022(2022-08-25) (aged 89) Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position	Center
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Portland Buckaroos Clinton Comets Quebec Aces Springfield Indians Hershey Bears
Playing career	1953–1965

Orval Roy Tessier (June 30, 1933 – August 25, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and coach who played parts of three seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins between 1954 and 1960, appearing in a total of 59 regular season games. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1953 to 1965, was spent in the minor leagues, where he was a solid offensive player. He won two scoring titles with the Eastern Professional Hockey League's Kingston Frontenacs, and was voted the league's most valuable player and most sportsmanlike player in the 1961–62 season.

After playing, Tessier had a successful coaching career. In junior ice hockey, Tessier coached the Cornwall Royals to Memorial Cup victory in 1972. Tessier coached the 1981 Memorial Cup finalists, the Kitchener Rangers. The next season, Tessier was hired to coach the New Brunswick Hawks in the American Hockey League. He led the Hawks to a Calder Cup victory in 1982. Tessier was promoted, and named head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, which lasted for three seasons. In 1983 Tessier won the Jack Adams Award as the best coach in the NHL.

During the 1983 Campbell Conference finals, Tessier was quoted as saying that the Blackhawks players needed "heart transplants" after giving up 16 goals in the first two games of the series against the Edmonton Oilers, and trailing in the series 2 games to 0. The quip failed to inspire the Hawks, who dropped the final two games of the series at Chicago Stadium, marking the second consecutive year Chicago lost in the Campbell Conference final.

Tessier won the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche while serving as a scout for the team. He died on August 25, 2022, in his hometown of Cornwall, Ontario.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1951–52	Kitchener Greenshirts	OHA		52	62	25	87	18		4	3	1	4	8
1952–53	Kitchener Greenshirts	OHA		55	54	40	94	19		15	7	13	20	12
1952–53	Barrie Flyers	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		10	10	18	28	14
1953–54	Montreal Royals	QHL		60	21	18	39	13		9	2	1	3	6
1954–55	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1954–55	Montreal Royals	QHL		60	36	30	66	8		12	4	7	11	0
1955–56	Boston Bruins	NHL		23	2	3	5	6		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Hershey Bears	AHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Quebec Aces	QHL		28	5	10	15	4		7	1	2	3	2
1956–57	Quebec Aces	QHL		68	43	38	81	24		10	7	5	12	0
1957–58	Springfield Indians	AHL		12	5	3	8	2		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Trois-Rivières Lions	QHL		62	27	39	66	4		8	2	3	5	9
1959–60	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		70	59	67	126	10		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Boston Bruins	NHL		32	3	4	7	0		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		34	22	21	43	6		5	4	2	6	0
1961–62	Kingston Frontenacs	EPHL		66	54	60	114	12		11	5	9	14	0
1962–63	Portland Buckaroos	WHL		36	15	21	36	9		7	0	0	0	0
1963–64	Portland Buckaroos	WHL		66	14	34	48	4		5	1	2	3	0
1964–65	Clinton Comets	EHL		66	60	58	118	42		11	2	7	9	0
QHL totals				278	132	135	267	53		46	16	18	34	17
NHL totals				59	5	7	12	6		—	—	—	—	—

Coaching record

National Hockey League

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
CHI	1982–83	80	47	23	10	104	1st in Norris	Won in division semi-finals (3-1 vs. STL) Won in division finals (4-1 vs. MIN) Lost in conference finals (0-4 vs. EDM)
CHI	1983–84	80	30	42	8	68	4th in Norris	Lost in division sem-finals (2-3 vs. MIN)
CHI	1984–85	53	22	28	3	47	2nd in Norris	Fired
Total		213	99	93	21	219	1 division title	0 Stanley Cups (9-9, 0.500)

American Hockey League

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
NB	1981–82	80	48	21	11	107	1st in North	Won in division semi-finals (3-2 vs. ADI) Won in division finals (4-1 vs. NS) Won Calder Cup (4-1 vs. BNG)
Total		80	48	21	11	107		1 Calder Cup (11-4, 0.733)

Junior hockey

QMJHL

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
COR	1971–72	62	47	13	2	96	1st in QMJHL	Won in quarter-finals (8-0 vs. VER) Won in semi-finals (8-2 vs. SHA) Won President's Cup (9-5 vs. QUE) Finished 2nd in round-robin at Memorial Cup (1-1) Won Memorial Cup (2-1 vs. PBO)
QUE	1972–73	64	49	11	4	102	1st in QMJHL	Won in quarter-finals (4-0 vs. TR) Won in semi-finals (4-0 vs. SHE) Won President's Cup (4-3 vs. COR) Finished 2nd in round-robin at Memorial Cup (1-1) Lost Memorial Cup (1-9 vs. TOR)
COR	1974–75	72	36	24	12	84	3rd in West	Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. MTL)
COR	1975–76	72	39	24	9	87	2nd in West	Won in quarter-finals (4-2 vs. MTL) Lost in semi-finals (0-4 vs. QUE)
COR	1976–77	72	38	24	10	86	2nd in Lebel	Won in quarter-finals (8-4 vs. TR) Lost in semi-finals (1-9 vs. SHE)
COR	1977–78	72	46	18	8	100	1st in Lebel	Won in quarter-finals (8-0 vs. HUL) Lost in semi-finals (2-8 vs. MTL)
CHI	1978–79	72	26	36	10	62	4th in Dilio	Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. SHE)
CHI	1979–80	72	42	27	3	87	2nd in Dilio	Won in quarter-finals (4-3 vs. TR) Lost in semi-finals (1-4 vs. COR)
COR Totals		350	206	103	41	453		1 President's Cup (25-23-2, 0.520) 1 Memorial Cup (2-1, 0.667)
CHI Totals		144	68	63	13	149		0 President's Cups (5-11, 0.313)
QUE Totals		64	49	11	4	102		1 President's Cup (12-3, 0.800) 0 Memorial Cups (1-2, 0.333)
QMJHL Totals		558	323	177	58	704		2 President's Cups (42-37-2, 0.551) 1 Memorial Cup (3-3, 0.500)

OHL

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
KIT	1980–81	68	34	33	1	69	1st in Emms	Won in division semi-finals (9-5 vs. NF) Won in division finals (9-1 vs. WSR) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (9-3 vs. SSM) Finished 2nd in round-robin at Memorial Cup (2-2) Lost Memorial Cup (2-8 vs. COR)
COR	1986–87	66	23	40	3	49	6th in Leyden	Lost in division quarter-finals (1-4 vs. OTT)
COR	1987–88	66	35	24	7	77	3rd in Leyden	Won in division quarter-finals (4-2 vs. BEL) Lost in division semi-finals (1-4 vs. OTT)
COR	1988–89	66	31	30	5	67	4th in Leyden	Won in division quarter-finals (4-2 vs. TOR) Won in division semi-finals (4-2 vs. OTT) Lost in division finals (2-4 vs. PBO)
COR Totals		198	89	94	15	193		0 J. Ross Robertson Cups (16-18, 0.471)
KIT Totals		68	34	33	1	69		1 J. Ross Robertson Cup (11-2-5, 0.750) 0 Memorial Cups (2-3, 0.400)
OHL Totals		266	123	127	16	262		1 J. Ross Robertson Cup (27-20-5, 0.567) 0 Memorial Cups (2-3, 0.400)

Awards and achievements

• 1961–62 - Most valuable player & Sportsmanship award (Kingston Frontenacs)
• 1982–83 - Jack Adams Award (Chicago Blackhawks)

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database