Chapter 16: Richard Chartrand

Richard Chartrand grew up playing hockey on a pond in Duck Bay.

He didn't start playing minor hockey until he moved to Dauphin in August of 1990. From there, to say his rise in the game was impressive would be an understatement. With little minor hockey under his belt, Chartrand played one year of midget hockey in Dauphin.

Then, three years after moving to Dauphin, he packed his bags and began his junior career. It's a career that will forever be cherished and remembered. He joined the Portage Terriers in the 1993-94 season and quickly became an elite talent. In just eight games as a rookie, Chartrand had two goals and four points.

Chartrand was previously drafted by the Kings in 1993. With eight games of junior under his belt, Richard was dealt to the Southeast Blades, and that's where his game took off. He averaged nearly a point per game, scoring 24 goals and accumulating 45 points in 50 games.

He also played with an edge, notching 162 penalty minutes. Chartrand and the Blades won 21 games that season. While the team didn't achieve the success they had hoped for, Richard says the team featured some excellent junior players.

He led the team in scoring that season and had the second-most penalty minutes.

"It was a little easier playing with so many talented guys around me," said Chartrand. "Being the rookie, I guess you could say, with ice time, I decided I had to do something. That's why I started to dust it up a bit, and then I earned some more ice time, and that's how I was able to produce."

Chartrand calls himself a late-bloomer, and in his wildest dreams, he didn't expect to advance to the junior level. Until he moved to Dauphin, he had no intention of even pursuing the game further. He started skating with friends from school, and the rest is history.

It helped that his skills were top-notch from day one

Then, in the 1995-96 season, Chartrand came back to the City of Sunshine. He joined the team that drafted him two years prior. Richard was an official member of the Dauphin Kings.

"That was really nice. I really wanted to play in Dauphin," said Chartrand. "I got a call one morning, and I was told that I was traded to the Dauphin Kings. I had a lot of family members in and around Dauphin, so they came out to all of my games. It was a great year, I was so happy to be in Dauphin."

Back in Dauphin, Richard helped the Kings to a fantastic regular season. They won the Allard Division regular season pennant with 34 wins and 71 points. The team won their first round playoff series with Winkler, then fell in six games to the then Neepawa Natives.

Brian Kostur was Richard's teammate that season. He finished sixth in league scoring with 47 goals and 102 points. Richard finished the season with an impressive 85 points. He also finished that season as Mr. 50. Only nine other Kings have ever scored 50 goals in a single season.

The list includes Jim Misener (73), Mark Zdan (59), and Jesse Sinatynski (59), to name a few.

As Richard turned 50 years old last year, he's now looking back at that historic season when he scored 50 goals. He became the 10th King of all-time to find the back of the net 50 times in a single season.

"I didn't know at the time that scoring 50 was such a big thing," said Chartrand. "I had hoped to do it. When I was getting close, we were running out of games in the regular season. When I scored the 50th goal, there was a lot of pressure off me. It was nice, I never thought I would have done something like that."

Chartrand is one of only 70 players in Manitoba Junior Hockey League history to have scored 50 goals in a season.

A decade after that epic year, Richard joined the Robin Northstars senior team. In the 2005-06 season, he had 12 goals and 17 points. Then, a year later, Richard put on a clinic. In 19 regular-season games, he scored 23 goals and had 46 points.

"My linemate from the Dauphin Kings, Brian Kostur, was on the team. I was fortunate to have played with him a few times throughout my career," said Chartrand. "He makes the game so easy. He sees everything so well, and it's not hard to play with a player like that."

While Chartrand's playing days have ended, he's still heavily involved in the game. He has two sons playing. One is at the U13 level and the other plays at the U15 level.

"I've been coaching for the last few years, I'm still a big part of the game," commented Chartrand. "It's the game that I have loved my entire life. You have to give back, and that's how I look at it. I love being on the ice with my boys, and I have a grandson coming up as well. Things are good, really good."

Chartrand is on the ice a few times a week.