CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Islander Rick Vaive will be inducted into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame in April.
He joins Summerside’s Gerard Gallant and Murray Harbour’s Brad Richards as Islanders who have been inducted in recent years.
This year’s class also includes forward Simon Gamache, defenceman Stephane Robidas, goalie Roberto Luongo and coach Clement Jodoin. The induction ceremony is set for April 8 in Brossard, Que.
The Ottawa-born Vaive, who spent most of his childhood in Charlottetown, was drafted fourth overall by the Sherbrooke Castors in 1976. He set franchise rookie records of 51 goals and 110 points that stand to this day.
He added 23 points in 18 playoffs games as the Castors won the President Cup in his rookie campaign. He topped the season off by being named the league’s rookie of the year.
He won bronze with Canada at the 1978 world junior championship and ended his two-year major junior career with 300 points in 164 regular season and playoff games. He also earned 408 penalty minutes.
Vaive played for the Birmigham Bulls of the World Hockey Association in 1978-79 while still junior age. He was drafted fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1979 NHL draft and was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 1980 as part of a deal for Tiger Williams.
He became the storied franchise’s first 50-goal scorer, accomplishing the feat in 1981-82.
He scored 441 goals and recorded 788 points plus 1,445 penalty minutes in 876 career NHL games.
Robert Lebel was the first inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1995. There are currently 27 builders and 72 players inducted into the Hall.
Related:
• Vaive's Hall of Fame website
• Vaive's HockeyDB profile page
• Vaive's NHL Trade Tracker page
