The QMJHL top scorer trophy will be named after the legendary Mario Lemieux

Pittsburgh Penguins legend and icon Mario Lemieux got his own trophy. It will be awarded to the top goal scorer in the QMJHL, where he still holds the franchise record for goals in the QMJHL at the age of 40.

Mario Lemieux Trophy

On Tuesday, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) announced that an award will be presented in honour of the legendary “Super Mario” to the top regular season scorer in the junior league that will bear his name. Lemieux himself still holds two records in this league.

Lemieux played three seasons in this league before joining the NHL in 1981-84. And in the last one, he set records that still stand today. In 1983-84, he scored an incredible 282 points and 133 goals in 70 games for the Laval Voisins. These figures have never been surpassed to this day.

So it makes sense that it is dedicated to the top scorer of the regular season. Mario’s record-breaking junior league season catapulted him into the draft as the clear number one pick. And logically, the Penguins reached for him. At the time, even the Pittsburgh team didn’t know they had acquired a player who would change the history of the franchise. Moreover, he had spent his entire career there and saved it from bankruptcy as an owner after his professional career ended.

Lemieux took Pittsburgh to the very top

It was with Lemieux that the true era of the “Penguins” began. Which he took from mediocrity to the best team in the league in just a few seasons. This led to two Stanley Cups, in 1991 and 1992. He proved that he had a god-given knack for scoring in the best league in the world, scoring 690 goals in 915 games.

However, his entire career was hampered by injuries, as he missed more than 40 percent of the games. Unfortunately, he suffered a similar fate to Bobby Orr and Mike Bossy. Both had to end their careers very early due to their bodies not allowing them to play at the professional level any longer.

Although Mario didn’t quit at 31, he never played a full season. In addition, he overcame an insidious cancer and still returned to hockey at the highest level.

Either way, he ranks among the greatest figures in the history of the sport. And the trophy couldn’t bear a better name than the Mario-Lemieux Trophy. Mario himself felt very honoured and touched. He commented that playing in the QMJHL gave him a very good preparation for the transition to the NHL and he is proud that the top scorer will receive a trophy with his name on it.

Source: NHL