Georges Laraque gained a lot of attention and started to make a name for himself in the QMJHL.
Laraque has, after his career, said that he many times doubted if hockey really was his thing and that he, at a young age, started questioning if fighting other tough guys really was his future.
But even as a young rookie, Laraque began challenging some of the league’s most feared guys, which turned out great for him.
Laraque was expected to be picked late in the first round or early in the second of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. At just 17, Laraque was 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds. Laraque knew he would be picked to be an enforcer, and teams were sure they were picked a great one of those.
He ended up getting drafted 31st overall by the Edmonton Oilers and becoming one of the greatest enforcers of all time.
When Laraque first made it to the NHL, his first big purchase was a Chevrolet Jimmy, and in his book, ’The Story of the NHL’s Unlikeliest Tough Guy,’ he shares a hilarious story about it.
”Not a really glamorous vehicle, I admit, but I felt pretty hot being able to buy myself a new car with my own money. And even hotter after having paid for it in cash and the balance of my bank account didn’t seem to have moved,” he said.
But as a teenager just getting his first big paycheck, Laraque spent some extra money on the car.
”As a total teenage moron, I equipped it with a ridiculously powerful sound system. I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure it cost me more than the truck itself. It was stuffed with amplifiers and speakers. They were everywhere, under the seats, on the dashboard, on the doors, even on the ceiling. I had to install a second battery under the hood just to have enough power to make all this stuff work. Added to that, I put in five or six fans to keep all the equipment from overheating. Ridiculous,” he said.
Laraque wasn’t shy about using the sound system, either. Today, he calls his behavior back then embarrassing.
”When my brother and I would race down the streets of Laval or Montreal, we had to wear earplugs so we could stand the noise. The sound and vibrations of the bass would literally penetrate our bodies. We were so cool, we thought. When stopped at a red light, drivers around us probably thought the bolts and rivets were about to vibrate right out of their cars.
”My mother would hear me coming back from miles. Eighteen, pockets bulging with money, completely unaware of what a jackass I must have seemed.”
