Turgeon Brothers

Imagine you're a kid growing up in late-1970s Québec. You and your older brother both love playing hockey, and you're both developing quite the set of skills. 

Childhood turns into adolescence, and by the time big bro reaches his late teens he becomes so skilled that he's selected to play for the 1982-83 Canadian National Junior team alongside future legends like Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman. Big bro is so admired by professional scouts, in fact, that later in the year the Hartford Whalers select him second overall in the NHL Entry Draft.

So what do you do? Motivated by your brother's success, you keep pushing. You play so well that a few years later your talents earn you a spot on the 1986-87 version of the Canadian National Junior team, skating alongside other future legends like Brendan Shanahan and Theo Fleury. But that's not all.

Later that same year the Buffalo Sabres select you first overall in the NHL Entry Draft.

It goes without saying that no two brothers have been drafted that high in NHL history. Mom and dad must have given each other a high-five.

Here are their two boys, looking good on cardboard.

1992-93 Pinnacle #373 Sylvain Turgeon and #165 Pierre Turgeon

 
Big bro Sylvain really hit the ground running in Hartford. After his first season he received notable consideration for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year. Only Tom Barrasso (the winner) and Steve Yzerman received more votes. And Sylvain's success didn't stop there. Just have a look at the progression across his first three NHL seasons:

1983-84: Third in team scoring (40 goals, 32 assists)
1984-85: Second in team scoring (31 goals, 31 assists)
1985-86: Led the team in scoring (45 goals, 34 assists)

That third season he topped players like Ron Francis, Ray Ferraro, and Kevin Dineen. Unfortunately for Sylvain, injuries really seemed to limit his playing time from then on. Across the next nine campaigns, he averaged only 50 games per season. After Hartford he'd suit up for the Devils, Canadiens, and Senators. Then he finished up his career with a few seasons in the European professional leagues.

I was too young to see much of Sylvain throughout those early years in Hartford, but as for younger brother Pierre? I got a great look at him during his years on Long Island.

And my goodness, what a naturally gifted player. He was one of those guys who didn't seem to exert much effort, but still skated faster than other players and zipped wrist shots into the net from everywhere.

Just consider his stats while he was with those Islanders. In 255 games he scored 340 points (147 goals, 193 assists). That's outright phenomenal. 

Across his career he played for the Sabres, Islanders, Canadiens, Blues, Stars, and Avalanche, and had terrific success with just about all those teams. And that's not to mention some good playoff runs, most notably with the Islanders and St. Louis. Pierre put up a total of 97 points (35 G, 62 A) in 109 playoff games.

Let's have a look at some numbers for both brothers.

CAREER TOTALS

	SYLVAIN (12 seasons)	PIERRE (19 seasons)
GAMES PLAYED	669	1294
GOALS	269	515
ASSISTS	226	812
POINTS	495	1327
PENALTY MINUTES	691	452
GAME-WINNING GOALS	29	86

BEST INDIVIDUAL SEASON
(Career highs in bold)

	SYLVAIN (1985-86, Hartford)	PIERRE (1992-93, NY Islanders)
GAMES PLAYED	76	83
GOALS	45	58
ASSISTS	34	74
POINTS	79	132
PENALTY MINUTES	88	26
POWER-PLAY GOALS	13	24
GAME-WINNING GOALS	5	10

You can see from those single-season numbers that both brothers were quite skilled. And here's a fun fact: They both had the experience of playing for their hometown Montreal Canadiens! (Though not at the same time.)

As for Pierre in particular, I don't know how he's not in the Hall of Fame with those career numbers. But maybe that's a subject for a separate blog entry.

For now, let's salute the Turgeon brothers for two terrific careers, and for setting a draft pick record that might never be broken. Actually, the only way it can be broken is if two brothers are both selected #1 overall in separate drafts. Seems like a tough ask, especially with the international talent pool these days.

Well done, Turgeons!