Yvan Serge Cournoyer (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens for 16 seasons, from 1963 to 1978, winning the Stanley Cup 10 times. In 1972, Cournoyer scored the tying goal in the deciding eighth game of the Canada-USSR series with seven minutes remaining. Canada went on to win the game and the series on Paul Henderson's dramatic goal with 34 seconds left in the game.
Cournoyer was born in Drummondville, Quebec. He was nicknamed "The Roadrunner" due to his small size and blazing speed, which he credited to longer blades on his skates. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2017 Cournoyer was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Playing career
thumb|upright|Cournoyer in 2008
In 1961, Cournoyer started his junior ice hockey with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association. By the time he was 18 years old, his legs had become so muscular that he required specially tailored pants.
Cournoyer made his NHL debut in 1963 with the Montreal Canadiens and earned a full-time spot with the club in 1964 after just seven games with the American Hockey League's Quebec Aces. Mark Mulvoy of Sports Illustrated was credited with giving Cournoyer the nickname, Roadrunner, with "Cournoyer joking at the time that now he had to live up to the label".
Cournoyer was initially regarded by Canadiens head coach Toe Blake as a defensive liability and undeserving of a regular shift, though he was still frequently used on the power play.
Post-playing career
Cournoyer coached the Montreal Roadrunners during the 1994–95 season and was an assistant coach to the Canadiens during the .
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1960–61
| Lachine Maroons
| MMJHL
| 42 || 37 || 31 || 68
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1961–62
| Montreal Junior Canadiens
| OHA
| 32 || 15 || 16 || 31 || 8
| 6 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 0
|-
| 1962–63
| Montreal Junior Canadiens
| OHA
| 36 || 37 || 27 || 64 || 24
| 10 || 3 || 4 || 7 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1963–64
| Montreal Junior Canadiens
| OHA
| 53 || 63 || 48 || 111 || 30
| 17 || 19 || 8 || 27 || 15
|-
| 1963–64
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 5 || 4 || 0 || 4 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1964–65
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 55 || 7 || 10 || 17 || 10
| 12 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 0
|-
| 1964–65
| Quebec Aces
| AHL
| 7 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1965–66
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 65 || 18 || 11 || 29 || 8
| 10 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 2
|-
| 1966–67
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 69 || 25 || 15 || 40 || 14
| 10 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1967–68
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 64 || 28 || 32 || 60 || 23
| 13 || 6 || 8 || 14 || 4
|-
| 1968–69
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 76 || 43 || 44 || 87 || 31
| 14 || 4 || 7 || 11 || 5
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1969–70
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 72 || 27 || 36 || 63 || 23
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1970–71
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 65 || 37 || 36 || 73 || 21
| 20 || 10 || 12 || 22 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1971–72
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 73 || 47 || 36 || 83 || 15
| 6 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 2
|-
| 1972–73
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 67 || 40 || 39 || 79 || 18
| 17 || 15 || 10 || 25 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1973–74
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 67 || 40 || 33 || 73 || 18
| 6 || 5 || 2 || 7 || 2
|-
| 1974–75
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 76 || 29 || 45 || 74 || 32
| 11 || 5 || 6 || 11 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1975–76
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 71 || 32 || 36 || 68 || 20
| 13 || 3 || 6 || 9 || 4
|-
| 1976–77
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 60 || 25 || 28 || 53 || 8
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1977–78
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 68 || 24 || 29 || 53 || 12
| 15 || 7 || 4 || 11 || 10
|-
| 1978–79
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 15 || 2 || 5 || 7 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 968 !! 428 !! 435 !! 863 !! 255
! 147 !! 64 !! 63 !! 127 !! 47
|}
International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="102" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1972
| Canada
| SS
| 8 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 2
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"| Senior totals
! 8 !! 3 !! 2 !! 5 !! 2
|}
See also
- List of players with 5 or more goals in an NHL game
- List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise