Justin: a Rocket> firing on all cylinders
The acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree, even at two generations removed
The great grandson of the much-missed Maurice Richard, Justin Latourelle-Aurélien, proudly wears his illustrious great grandfather’s renowned Number 9 on the Laval Express Blue Leopards hockey team in the Apprentice Division.
The Chomedey six-year old has already shown he has a hockey compass in his eye and the hockey genes to go with it. Recently he scored all of his team’s goals, a hat-trick, at the Express Hockey Festival held February 17 at Cartier Arena. In short, we could say that Justin is a Rocket firing on all cylinders.
Justin’s grandmother, Huguette Richard, loves to cheer for her grandson at his hockey games. She’s a great fan. She sees in the boy her famous father.
“Justin has Richard blood flowing in his veins. He’s a terrific skater and has great hockey sense. He’s a good puck handler. Maurice is behind him,” she insists. “I’m the one who showed him how to skate at the Chomedey Arena, at free-skating sessions,” she adds, taking a bow.
Risk-reward
Justin laced on skates in organized competitive hockey only last year. The young lad had no doubts that he would be handed the famous Number 9 worn by his illustrious great grandfather over three decades (40s, 50s, 60s). “We were late for the (first) game. They had left the last jersey, Number 9, for me," he said. I thought my mother (grandmother Huguette) had asked the coach to keep the sweater for Justin. (But not so), it was a very happy coincidence, and a risk worth taking in the end,” proudly recalls Justin’s mother.
Grand-maman Huguette could hardly contain her tears of joy when she saw her grandson take to the ice wearing number 9. “I was very moved,” confesses Justin’s number 1 fan who often talks about her father (Maurice) to him. She took Justin with her to watch Roy Dupuis play the Rocket in the film of the same name. “I often tell him his great-grandfather lives in him,” she says, eyes shining.
This year, Leopards coach Pierre Da Cruz had no hesitation in giving Justin sweater number 9, at his grandmother’s request. “We wanted Justin to continue to wear number 9. It was important,” the two women point out.
Destiny and forgiveness
On his death bed in May of 2000, Maurice Richard waited for his granddaughter, Julie Latourelle-Aurélien, before leaving this world. “The two were not speaking to each other for personal reasons. Papa was dying but he waited for Julie before passing away. The two spoke, reconciled and forgave each other. Then he died. We learned after that, that Julie was then pregnant with Justin. It was fate! My father lives in Justin,” concludes Huguette Richard.
Skaters from generation to generation
Justin is the son of Julie Latourelle and Maxime Aurélien. His sister Jade, 8, also skates, wearing the colours of the Club de patinage artistique les Lames d’Argent. In her youth, Julie also skated, with the CPA Montréal-Nord, where her mother Huguette was a volunteer. It was there she showed her daughter how to skate. The Richards – skaters from generation to generation to generation.
Photo:Justin
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
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Steven Guilbeault - 
