Midget

[rhovorka]

[Q] He was born one year too late -- he came back the year after the dwarves had left and went from about 50 points as their linemate to about 20 without them. [/Q]

Ruid, the Elves, and Tim Thomas were all Class of '97.  For them to flame out in the first round of the NCAAs vs. Denver that year was very disappointing, considering they lost in 2OT in the Frozen Four the previous year.

Perrin has been playing in Finland, according to hockeydb.com

[rhovorka]

The most impressive thing about Juneau to me was that he completed an aeronautical engineering degree at RPI in 3 years.  He did some grad work his 4th year of playing hockey.  At least that's what I remember reading somewhere.

[ursusminor]

Yes, Juneau did complete his degree in three years and did grad work as a Senior. However, he also had some advanced placement credit due to the Quebec school system having a 13th grade (or something like that).

Rich Hovorka '96 wrote:

The most impressive thing about Juneau to me was that he completed an aeronautical engineering degree at RPI in 3 years.  He did some grad work his 4th year of playing hockey.  At least that's what I remember reading somewhere.

Post Edited (04-22-03 13:48)

[Lisa McGill]

[q]However, he also had some advanced placement credit due to the Quebec school system having a 13th grade (or something like that).[/q]

Ah, yes,  Cegep ("say-jep").  My Montreal friends have explained this to me repeatedly.  It's like 12th and 13th grades, then you go to university (not college, mind you, university) for 3 years.  Still, aeronautical engineering--not bad.

[adamw]

I used to call them the Rugrats ... and yes, they did do all sorts of showboating after goals ... but, after a while, I forgave them.

I'm giving away a whole paragraph of an upcoming column ... but ... best moment I remember is, '96 NCAA game against Lake Superior.  The entire West was unconvinced those guys were any good (where have we heard that before) ...

So ... opening faceoff, Perrin gets it to St. Louis.  St. Louis comes over the blue line, does a drop pass between his legs to himself, shuffles it across with his skate, behind his back, to his stick, and unloads about a 92 MPH blast that missed the crossbar by 2 inches.

It was a jaw-dropping move, and shot.  And after that, everyone from the West shut the heck up.

I was broadcasting a game for Princeton when St. Louis scored (almost) a shorthanded hat trick.  He had two shorties - and one came just as a penalty ended.  One, he was in the box, it was a 5-on-3 - he came out to make it a 5-on-4, took a pass at center ice, and went in alone for a breakaway goal.

My 4 years at Princeton coincided with their 4 years. Princeton was 0-7 against them until the last meeting of the 1996-97 regular season.  Princeton beat them up in Gutterson.  So, they met in the playoffs, and Princeton won 2-of-3 in a stunner.  This was actually my first year learning about PWR - because I remember trying to convince the Vermont media that they had made the NCAAs regardless of their early ECAC exit.

J.C. Ruid was indeed class of '97, and he was on their line for the last two seasons.

That Vermont team was never deep - that was the knock.  But when you had a top line and a goalie that was THAT good, it didn't matter.  The defensemen were pretty good.  But in '96-97, they lost a couple key role players up front.  Guys who were just muckers and kept the other teams at bay.

But they opened the 1996-97 season like a house of fire.  There was a game in October at Boston University - it was absolutely the hottest ticket in town.  Tons of media there.  Vermont beat BU - Thomas played awesome.  Vermont was ranked No. 1.  But doubt started to creep in after that.  It seemed as though the ECAC figured them out a bit.  They lost a bunch of league games - rallied in mid-season - but were a disappointment in the postseason.

They were never really in that Denver game in the 1997 NCAAs.  Then it was all over.

Whenever I finally write that college hockey history book - St. Louis-Perrin are getting a chapter.

[Rich Stamboulian]

Mikko Ollila did something similar at Clarkson a few years ago...undergrad degree in 3 years and finished his Masters in his 4th.  Not sure if he brought "credits" from Finland with him.

[Rich Stamboulian]

In many ways Todd White and St. Louis are cut from the same bolt of cloth...and you could see that as ECAC players.  Both are undersized with Todd being a bit bigger and stronger, St. Louis faster and flashier.

Both are smart players, hard workers, have an intense desire to win, and play bigger than their size indicates.  Characteristics you just cannot coach.

Many folks never believed the experts who said they were both too small to play in the NHL.  I know White was not drafted by anyone....was Martin?

[rhovorka]

Rich Stamboulian wrote:
Many folks never believed the experts who said they were both too small to play in the NHL.  I know White was not drafted by anyone....was Martin?

No.  He was signed by Calgary as a Free Agent in '98 and then by TB in 2000.

This article talks about how he wasn't taken in the '97 draft.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he would've been eligible for the draft.  Aren't college players only eligible as 18 or 19 year olds?
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/zillgitt/2003-04-16-zillgitt_x.htm
[Q]Despite a stellar college career at Vermont where he holds the school's assists and scoring records, no team took a chance on St. Louis in nine rounds that produced 246 draft picks in 1997. At least eight first-rounders (Michel Riesen, Michael Holmqvist, Matt Zultek, Ty Jones, Daniel Tkaczuk, Stefan Cherneski, Nikos Tselios, Kevin Grimes) from that draft aren't in the NHL today.[/Q]

[adamw]

St. Louis was at least 23 when the 1997 draft happened.  Not eligible whatsoever.

Nobody even wanted him out of college.  He actually signed first as a free agent with Cleveland of the IHL, along with Perrin, together.  St. Louis then got signed by Calgary after that first year, and was sent to Saint John of the AHL.  He tore up the AHL - but Calgary never gave him more than a cup of coffee.

Tampa took a shot - but even they weren't playing him a lot at first.  He basically told their coach - look, play me on the top line and on PP, and I'll score.  And he did.

Todd White had the same issue.  He was the leading rookie scorer in the IHL in 1997-98, then got some time with the Blackhawks before he was traded to Philadelphia midseason in 1999-2000.  If you combined his stats, he'd have led all the Triple-A level minor leagues in scoring that year.  But Bob Clarke let him walk as a free agent - and he signed with Ottawa.  Again, he was in the minors at first - but did well - then played great in the playoffs his first year there, but had a terrible training camp the next summer.  So he was sent down.

He finally stuck for good early last season.



Post Edited (04-22-03 15:58)

[marty]

[Q]Yes, Juneau did complete his degree in three years and did grad work as a Senior. However, he also had some advanced placement credit due to the Quebec school system having a 13th grade (or something like that).[/Q]

But Juneau was also alleged to have learned English while at RIP in addition to his engineering and on ice accomplishments.  Does anyone know if the language barrier was a fact?

[cquinn]

[Q]I used to call them the Rugrats ... and yes, they did do all sorts of showboating after goals ... but, after a while, I forgave them.[/Q]

I moved to Vermont during the peak Perrin-St.Louis-Thomas years.  It's this showboating and the barrage of local media coverage just drooling over the trio that got me to hate the Vermont hockey team so much.  But Cornell still came away with the hardware.

I've enjoyed watching St. Louis in the pros.  You have to respect that kind of talent.  I still can't stand Thomas and it kills me that he's playing for the Bruins, "my" NHL team.  I'm not convinced that he's THAT good.

BTW, even the Vermont radio guys mentioned that their grandmothers could have put up Ruid's numbers if they were on that line.

[Josh '99]

Richard Stott '70 wrote:
That line of St. Louis-Perrin and whoever else was with them was clearly one of the best lines in ECAC history.

St. Louis - Perrin - whoever  is the only line that compares to Kariya - Selanne - whoever in the star - star - scrub department, IMO.  :-)

[CUlater]

Ever hear of Kurri-Gretzky-whoever?

[Jordan 04]

I saw whoever play and he was just plain sick.

Who's this Gretzky fellow they put him with?

[ursusminor]

According to various newpaper articles which I have read, Juneau  originally lived in the Troy area with a French-Canadian expatriate family in order to learn English. Despite that, he started off poorly academically at RPI due to not being able to understand lectures. This was apparently quickly remedied.