Geoff Courtnall

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Left Wing
played_for = "AHL"
Hershey Bears
Moncton Golden Flames
"NHL"
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
Washington Capitals
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
shot = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 195
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1962|8|18
birth_place = Victoria, BC, CAN
draft = Never drafted
draft_year =
draft_team =
career_start = 1983
career_end = 2000
halloffame =

Geoffrey "Geoff" Courtnall (born 18 August 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. He is currently the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.

Courtnall was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Duncan, British Columbia. He is the brother of former NHL player, Russ Courtnall. Geoff's son, Justin, was drafted 210th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.Cite web|url=http://www.sportsfeatures.com/index.php?section=pp&action=show&id=40103|title=LIGHTNING MAKE 9 SELECTIONS AT 2007 NHL ENTRY DRAFT|accessdate=2007-06-24|publisher=Sports Features Communications|year=2007|author=Breseman, Brian]

Playing career

The speedy Geoff Courtnall was signed by the Boston Bruins of the NHL as an undrafted free agent on 6 July 1983. He played for the Bruins from the 1983-84 NHL season to 8 March 1988 when he was traded along with Bill Ranford to the Edmonton Oilers for Andy Moog. While in Edmonton He helped the Oilers win the 1988 Stanley Cup Championship. Barely four months later, the Oilers traded Courtnall to the Washington Capitals for Greg C. Adams, who was also from Duncan, British Columbia. After two seasons in Washington, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues for Mike Lalor and Peter Zezel.

Courtnall's first nine seasons were spent bouncing between five NHL clubs and two AHL clubs, the Hershey Bears and Moncton Golden Flames.

After less than a season in St. Louis he was sent at the trading deadline to the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade. Going to Vancouver were Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, and future considerations. Going to St. Louis were Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. This trade marked a major turning point for the Canucks as these players were among the core players that would lead the Canucks to their Stanley Cup run in 1994. Courtnall would only play one more season in Vancouver after the Cup run of '94 as he went back to the St. Louis Blues for the start of the 1995-96 season. He scored a lot of goals for the Blues but he suffered several concussions. After sitting out the last half of the 1998-1999 season with a concussion he returned to the lineup the next season. But only a few games in he went down again with a concussion, this time for the last time. Lingering effects of Post Concussion Syndrome forced Courtnall to retire after the 1999-2000 season.

References

ee also

*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players with 1000 games played
*Notable families in the NHL

External links

* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=1125 Career Stats]