Georges Laraque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
Nickname(s) The Rock, The Enforcer, Gorgeous George
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
250 lb (113 kg/17 st 12 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams		 Pittsburgh Penguins
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born December 7, 1976 (1976-12-07) (age 31),
Montreal, QC, CAN
NHL Draft 31st overall, 1995
Edmonton Oilers
Pro career 1996 – present

Georges Laraque (born December 7, 1976) is a professional ice hockey forward, and a radio host for CFRN. He is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. He is an enforcer.

[edit] Playing career

Born in Montreal, Laraque entered the QMJHL, where he played for a variety of teams. In 173 games at the junior level, Laraque stockpiled 107 points and 661 penalty minutes. Laraque was a member of the 1996 Granby Prédateurs team which won the Memorial Cup.

After finishing junior, Laraque spent parts of three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Despite concerns about his skating, Laraque showed enough at the AHL-level for Edmonton to bring him to the NHL. Although he was something of a power forward in junior, Laraque is considered primarily as an enforcer at the NHL level. His 6'3" frame and his habit of fighting made him one of the most feared forwards in the league (in terms of checking and fighting). He was unanimously awarded the 'Best Fighter' award from The Hockey News in 2003. Despite his reputation as a fighting-only player, Laraque has had offensive bursts during his career and on February 22, 2000, Laraque scored a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings.

During the NHL lockout, he played in Sweden, signing on with AIK. In the 2006 off season, Laraque was up for free agency and wanted to stay in Edmonton and play. He even said he was willing to take a salary cut if the Oilers accepted on giving him a long-term, no trade clause deal. The Oilers did not agree with Laraque's demand for a no trade clause thus the contract was never signed. On July 5, 2006, Laraque signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. He scored his first goal as a Phoenix Coyote against Edmonton on October 26, 2006.

On February 27, 2007, Laraque was dealt by the Phoenix Coyotes to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Daniel Carcillo and a third-round draft pick.

In the off-season, Laraque resides back in Edmonton where he considers his home away from home. On Fridays during the off-season, Laraque can often be heard hosting Team 1260 in Edmonton.[1]. Laraque also commits a lot of his time to local charity work to help the local people of Edmonton and Pittsburgh.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links