The Ontario Hockey League is mourning the loss of a tremendous former coach, one who managed to win a Memorial Cup as both a player and coach as well as other championships in the OHL, QMJHL, AHL and NHL over the course of a lengthy career in the game. Former Cornwall Royals and Kitchener Rangers head coach Orval Tessier passed away in Cornwall on Thursday at the age of 89.
Tessier enjoyed tremendous success as a head coach in the QMJHL, winning back-to-back President Cup titles with his hometown Cornwall Royals in 1972 and the Quebec Remparts in 1973. He guided the 1972 Royals to a Memorial Cup crown but his 1973 Remparts fell in the Championship Final to Bruce Boudreau and the Toronto Marlboros. He remains one of three coaches in Memorial Cup history alongside Mario Pouliot (Acadie-Bathurst, Rouyn-Noranda, 2018 & ’19) and Jean Begin (Laval, Verdun, 1984 & ’85) to appear in consecutive Memorial Cup tournaments with different franchises.
1972 Cornwall Royals were crowned in the first 3-team tournament defeating Edmonton and Peterborough.
1 of 99 #MCMemorialCup champions and candidate for #CHL Team of the Century 💯
VOTE: https://t.co/1BGxbs7Zjh #MMC100 pic.twitter.com/ewWTYakeS6
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 2, 2018
Following the Memorial Cup defeat, Tessier returned to Cornwall in 1974 and coached the Royals for four more seasons before taking a head coaching job with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for two years.
Tessier came to the OHL in 1980, coaching the Kitchener Rangers to their first-ever J. Ross Robertson Cup title. The ’81 Rangers featured the likes of Brian Bellows, Jeff Larmer, blueliners Al MacInnis and Joe McDonnell, and were backstopped in goal by Wendell Young. Kitchener defeated the Soo Greyhounds to win the OHL championship, falling to Cornwall in the Memorial Cup Championship Final in Windsor.
Tessier would go on to coach the AHL’s New Brunswick Hawks to a Calder Cup title in 1982, coaching such names as Steve Larmer, Steve Ludzik and Mike Kaszycki before getting the call from the big club. He served as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for parts of three seasons, earning the NHL’s Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 1983. Tessier returned to the OHL in 1986, coaching the Cornwall Royals for three seasons. He’d join the Colorado Avalanche as as scout late in his career, hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2001.
Tessier was an OHL Third Team All-Star in 1981 after being named to the QMJHL’s First All-Star Team three different times in addition to two Second Team nominations and one Third Team appearance.
Prior to his coaching days, Tessier was a standout with the OHA’s Kitchener Greenshirts and Barrie Flyers from 1951-53, hoisting the Memorial Cup alongside teammate Don Cherry with Barrie in 1953. He went on to play a lengthy pro career that included a pair of 50+ goal seasons with the EPHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in the late 50’s and early 60’s. A forward, Tessier appeared in 59 career NHL contests between Montreal and Boston.
Orval Tessier was the beloved husband of Charlotte Tessier. He is survived by four children, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
1953 Barrie Flyers beat St. Boniface in a five-game series that featured legendary Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry on D, captain Don McKenney, and Orval Tessier.
1 of 99 #MCMemorialCup champions and candidate for #CHL Team of the Century 💯
VOTE: https://t.co/0mBWCCiVao #MMC100 pic.twitter.com/mwvNtR9zDn
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) April 21, 2018
