History & Records section - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

The Olympiques: true winners!

The Olympiques, Hull or Gatineau, it's all the same when it comes to the successes the organization has had in over 50 years of existence.

Admitted to the QMJHL in 1973, the Hull Festivals needed a few seasons before truly reaching their peak. In their 4th season, they adopted the nickname Olympiques.

From 1973-74 to 1984-85, neither the Festivals nor the Olympiques managed to win a single playoff round.

But in the last 39 seasons, from 1984-85 to 2023-24, the Olympiques managed to make the post-season, a real feat. Once in the playoffs, anything can happen... So much so that they played 492 games, won 266 of them, scored an average of 4.02 goals per game, appeared in the final 10 times, and won the championship 7 times, the league record. Not too bad, eh?

1984-85 - Sam Lang, Joe Foglietta and Luc Robitaille still wore the yellow, white and blue jerseys. But the following season, it would be "black and silver" that became fashionable in Hull.

1973-74 - the franchise's starting edition, when it was called FESTIVALS.

Wayne Gretzky becomes owner, and the successes will come one after the other

Charles Henry will be the great architect of the Olympiques as general manager.

Since 1986, Outaouais representatives have won seven President Cups - a QMJHL record! - after taking part in ten finals. Added to this are four regular season championships.

Wayne Gretzky (right) - the National Hockey League star player would purchase the Hull Olympiques franchise in 1984.

Charles Henry - during his 25-year reign as general manager, his team reached the League final on 10 occasions, crowned by 7 President Cup victories.

1985-86 - Franchise Records

An exceptional regular season, with records for points in the standings (108), victories (54) and also for the number of goals scored (423).

In the series, the Olympics took advantage of the 5 of 9 formats to win 15 victories in a row, suffering no setbacks. They successively beat Shawinigan, St-Jean and Drummondville, the latter in the final, which they dominated 39-12 in goals for and goals against! Enough to delight head coach Pat Burns!

Luc Robitaille - he finished first in scorers with 44 points in the 1986 playoffs, one point ahead of his teammate Guy Rouleau (43).

Guy Rouleau - he and his linemate Luc Robitaille each scored 191 points in the 1985-86 regular season, but since Rouleau scored 91 goals to his teammate's 68, he was awarded the scoring title and the Jean-Béliveau Trophy.

The Return of the Prodigal Son: Marc Saumier

1987-88

Let's recall the facts, Marc Saumier had served as a bargaining chip to acquire the talented forward Guy Rouleau in the first days of the 1985-86 season. An excellent transaction for the Longueuil Chevaliers who won the Cup with Saumier in 1987. Obviously, for the Olympiques too!

Then during the 1987 QMJHL draft session, the Olympiques traded again with the Chevaliers. Charles Henry, the general manager of the Olympics, had promised the characterful player that he would return for him at the appropriate time to complete his junior internship in Hull. Promise made, promise kept!

The Olympiques would win the President Cup the following spring. And Saumier would once again earn the Guy-Lafleur Trophy for his efficiency in the playoffs, and this for a 2nd year in a row.

1988 - Cam Russell and Marc Saumier lift head coach Alain Vigneault to celebrate the conquest of the President Cup

JOSÉ THÉODORE (Hull) - Most valuable player of the 1995 playoffs. In 1995-96, the Olympiques went on a 24-game winning streak. Théodore would win 14 of them during this extraordinary streak!

1995-96

24 in a row!

In the 1995 playoffs, the team will have goaltender José Théodore as its leader, who will multiply his prowess to defeat the Laval Titan in the final. Théodore will receive the title of "Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs".

Then, during the following season, in 1995-96, the Olympiques will have a flawless streak.

They will stick 24 victories in a row, and will come within a hair of equaling the mark of the Sorel Eperviers of 1973-74.

After three unsuccessful attempts at previous Memorial Cup tournaments

1997 - The Olympiques crowned "CHAMPIONS" of the Canadian Hockey League

Christian Bronsard (Hull | 1997) - the Olympiques goalie stole the show both in the 1997 playoffs and during the Memorial Cup tournament.

1997 - The Olympiques were very proud to win the Memorial Cup at home, in front of their fans, at the Robert-Guertin Centre filled to capacity.

One of the owners, Gilles Sauvé, poses proudly with giant defenseman Colin White.

The hero of the longest game in QMJHL history! Brock Boucher scored the winning goal in the 5th overtime period, in the 147th minute of Hull's 3-2 win over Victoriaville. It was during the first round of the 1999 playoffs....

A game that finishes late the next day! Hull wins 3-2 over Victoriaville in the 8th period of the game played on March 19, 1999, at the Robert-Guertin Centre.

The game ended at 1:43 a.m., no less than 6 hours and 13 minutes after the first faceoff! Brock Boucher scored the winning goal in the 5th overtime period, in the 147th minute of the game...

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IT'S ALWAYS THE LONGEST IN THE QMJHL HISTORY!

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Goaltenders: Hul Philippe Bergeron (66 shots); Vic Pierre-Luc Therrien (89 shots & QMJHL record of 86 saves)...

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A crowd of 2,566 spectators attended this game. Some fans had to justify their late return home, according to well-informed sources!

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TOP 100 | QMJHL | League Record | Lifetime | Playoffs

Longest game in history

1	Victoriaville / Hull	98-99	1999-03-19	146:31
2	Baie-Comeau / Cape Breton	24-25	2025-04-04	141:42
3	Cape Breton / Québec	08-09	2009-04-03	132:57
4	Chicoutimi / Rimouski	18-19	2019-03-23	129:15
5	Acadie-Bathurst / Halifax	21-22	2022-05-11	116:14
6	Cape Breton / Drummondville	17-18	2018-03-24	114:26
7	Val-d`Or / Blainville-Boisbriand	15-16	2016-04-03	112:26
8	Acadie-Bathurst / Baie-Comeau	00-01	2001-04-21	106:37
9	Hull / Longueuil	89-90	1990-03-26	103:50
10	Halifax / Cape Breton	07-08	2008-04-08	103:02
11	Victoriaville / Drummondville	87-88	1988-03-20	103:00
12	Val-d`Or / P.E.I.	12-13	2013-04-01	101:03
13	Hull / Val-d`Or	95-96	1996-04-11	100:45
14	Rouyn-Noranda / Halifax	16-17	2017-03-31	100:26
15	Saint John / Gatineau	10-11	2011-05-11	99:16

The year of surprise: 2003

The Halifax Mooseheads were the victims of the Olympiques at the end of a series pushed to the limit of 7 games.

Maxime Talbot (2003 and 2004) - he will win the Guy-Lafleur Trophy twice as player of the playoffs. Marc Saumier, is the only other in the history of the League to have achieved the feat, but in his case he received it in two different uniforms. In 1988, Saumier was playing for the Olympiques when he received the title.

The President Cup - in 2004, the Olympiques won it for a second year in a row.

2004 - it's the turn of the Moncton Wildcats to lose to the Gatineau team

Despite a change in city name, the Olympics continue their domination.

You read that right! We no longer talk about the invincible Hull Olympiques, but rather the Gatineau Olympiques, due to municipal mergers forcing the change of the name of the main city in Outaouais.

Luc Chénier had no more voice at the end of the 2008 Final series!

Listen to the excerpt below, where the radio commentators of the match confirmed the League record of 7 President Cups for the Olympiques

The game was broadcast at the time by 104.7 Outaouais.

The description was by Nicolas St-Pierre, while the analyst was Luc Chénier, a former Olympiques player when the team won its very first President Cup in 1986.

Audio

Benoit Groulx - he alone won 3 of the team's 7 President Cups as head coach: those of 2003, 2004, 2008!

The Olympiques, the most successful team in the playoffs in the history of the QMJHL

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7th President Cup

When head coach Benoît Groulx lifted the President Cup for the 3rd time with the Olympiques in the spring of 2008, he became the first coach in QMJHL history to win the playoff championship 3 times.

He led the Olympiques for 13 seasons, recording 565 victories in 988 games, including seasons and playoffs!

Claude Giroux - recipient of the Guy-Lafleur Trophy, at the end of the 2008 playoffs. He received the trophy from Raymond Bolduc of the QMJHL head office.

For the 7th time in 23 seasons, Commissioner Gilles Courteau will present the President Cup to the Olympiques players. He previously did so in 1986, 1988, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, and this time in 2008.

Jean-Philippe Chabot - he cannot hide his joy, with the President Cup at the end of his arms.

A great season for the 50th anniversary!

For the season commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Olympiques, the troop coached by Louis Robitaille had a remarkable 2022-23 regular season.

• A season of more than 103 points, 49 wins, 304 goals scored...

• A streak of 24 consecutive victories in the 2nd half of the season (21 in the season and 3 more added in the playoffs)...

• The emergence of 18-year-old defenseman Tristan Luneau (records of 63 assists and 83 points)...

• A new attendance record in the regular season: 127,055 spectators.

• In the playoffs, the Olympiques were defeated in the semi-final by the eventual champions of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, the Quebec Remparts.

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The greatest names in the history of this franchise: Sylvain Turgeon, Sam Lang, Charles Henry, Pat Burns, Luc Robitaille, Guy Rouleau, Alain Vigneault, Martin Gélinas, José Théodore, Claude Julien, Colin White, Martin Ménard, Jiri Fischer, Maxime Talbot, Benoît Groulx, Claude Giroux, Paul Byron, Vitalii Abramov, Tristan Luneau.…

Tristan Luneau (2022-23) - he took the opportunity to break some historical records for a defenseman with the Olympiques: most points (83), most assists (63)...

Tristan Luneau (2022-23) - he took the opportunity to break some historic records for a defenseman with the Olympiques: most points (83), most assists (63)...

Vitalii Abramov (2016-17) - he finished first scorer in QMJHL, with 104 points in 66 games. He thus became the 4th player in Olympiques history to win the Jean-Béliveau Trophy, after Guy Rouleau, Pavel Rosa and Philip-Michaël Devos.

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