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Geoff Courtnall

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Geoff Courtnall
Courtnall c. 2022
Born (1962-08-18) August 18, 1962 (age 62)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
Washington Capitals
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
National team  Canada
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1983–2000
Medal record
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1991 Finland

Geoffrey Lawton Courtnall (born August 18, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and for the Victoria Vikes of the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL).

Playing career

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Geoff Courtnall was signed by the Boston Bruins of the NHL as an undrafted 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 for Andy Moog. While in Edmonton, he helped the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 1988, after facing his old team the Bruins in the finals. About four months later, the Oilers traded Courtnall to the Washington Capitals 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.[1]

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 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.[2]

Personal life

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Courtnall was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Duncan, British Columbia. His father, Archie, had played professional hockey, and worked in the forestry industry on Vancouver Island.[2] Archie had depression, and in 1978 killed himself.[3] 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.[4]

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 discussed Courtnall's drinking while at the 2010 Winter Olympics 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.[5] Along with his brother, Russ, Courtnall established the Archie Courtnall Centre for emergency psychiatric care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.[2]

Sexual assault allegation

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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, Scott Stevens, and Neil Sheehy.[6] The court case fell apart, though a spokesperson for the Metropolitan police at the time – with no supporting evidence available for use at trial – stated that the police "have sufficient grounds to believe that a criminal offense did occur."[7]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Cowichan Valley Capitals BCJHL 44 20 56 76 56 — — — — —
1980–81 Victoria Cougars WHL 11 3 5 8 6 15 2 1 3 7
1981–82 Victoria Cougars WHL 72 35 57 92 100 4 1 0 1 2
1982–83 Victoria Cougars WHL 71 41 73 114 186 12 6 7 13 42
1983–84 Boston Bruins NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1983–84 Hershey Bears AHL 74 14 12 26 51 — — — — —
1984–85 Hershey Bears AHL 9 8 4 12 4 — — — — —
1984–85 Boston Bruins NHL 64 12 16 28 82 5 0 2 2 7
1985–86 Boston Bruins NHL 64 21 16 37 61 3 0 0 0 2
1985–86 Moncton Golden Flames AHL 12 8 8 16 6 — — — — —
1986–87 Boston Bruins NHL 65 13 23 36 117 1 0 0 0 0
1987–88 Boston Bruins NHL 62 32 26 58 108 — — — — —
1987–88 Edmonton Oilers NHL 12 4 4 8 15 19 0 3 3 23
1988–89 Washington Capitals NHL 79 42 38 80 112 6 2 5 7 12
1989–90 Washington Capitals NHL 80 35 39 74 104 15 4 9 13 32
1990–91 St. Louis Blues NHL 66 27 30 57 56 — — — — —
1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 11 6 2 8 8 6 3 5 8 4
1991–92 Vancouver Canucks NHL 70 23 34 57 116 12 6 8 14 20
1992–93 Vancouver Canucks NHL 84 31 46 77 167 12 4 10 14 12
1993–94 Vancouver Canucks NHL 82 26 44 70 123 24 9 10 19 51
1994–95 Vancouver Canucks NHL 45 16 18 34 81 11 4 2 6 34
1995–96 St. Louis Blues NHL 69 24 16 40 101 13 0 3 3 14
1996–97 St. Louis Blues NHL 82 17 40 57 86 6 3 1 4 23
1997–98 St. Louis Blues NHL 79 31 31 62 94 10 2 8 10 18
1998–99 St. Louis Blues NHL 24 5 7 12 28 13 2 4 6 10
1999–00 St. Louis Blues NHL 6 2 2 4 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,048 367 432 799 1,465 156 39 70 109 262

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1991 Canada WC 10 5 1 6 16
Senior totals 10 5 1 6 16

Awards and achievements

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Boswell, Thomas (July 14, 1990). "Staying of Leaving Proves a Tough Call". Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Kuzma, Ben (November 25, 2017). "Ex-NHLer Geoff Courtnall learns to stickhandle around life's adversity". The Province. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Robson, Dan (January 20, 2018). "Cowichan Valley 'where it all began' for ex-NHLer Geoff Courtnall". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Breseman, Brian (2007). "Lightning Make 9 Selections At 2007 Nhl Entry Draft". Sports Features Communications. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
  5. ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (July 12, 2019). "Former Bruin Geoff Courtnall was saved, and now he wants to save others, too". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Horwitz, Sari; Davis, Patricia (May 16, 1990). "BOSS SAYS GIRL TRUSTED THE CAPITALS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  7. ^ McKenna, Dave (April 21, 2006). "Another Lose-Lose Situation". Washington City Paper. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
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