George LaRaque

George LaRaque

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Montreal, Quebec

Community Champion & Role Model - Inspiring Youth through Sports, Charity, and Advocacy

George LaRaque, as the first black hockey player from French Canada to play in the National Hockey League, Georges Laraque had to fight for his place in the game. His story of determination, love of the game, and perseverance in the face of racism, will inspire any audience. Laraques’ passion and charisma shine through his presentations and show how the most challenging situations can be used as motivation to succeed.
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GEORGE LARAQUE BIOGRAPHY

Georges Laraque was the first black hockey player from French Canada to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

An eleven year veteran of the NHL, in 2010 he became the Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada. Georges was born on in Montreal, Quebec and he grew up in Tracy, a small community outside Montreal. George began skating when he was five years old and grew up idolizing Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, but it was Jackie Robinson’s story that gave him the courage to face the challenges of being a minority in an almost all-white world of hockey.

While playing minor hockey as a child, Laraque was continually besieged with racist remarks from both players and spectators. Although his parents begged him to give up the game because the environment was so hostile, Laraque refused to quit. “I loved hockey so much,” he told the National Hockey League Web site. “I couldn’t quit even though the kids would say the N-word and tell me this wasn’t my sport so I couldn’t play. It wasn’t right so I used it as motivation. I kept playing to show them they were wrong. In my mind, if I had quit, that would have proved they were right.” Finally, when he was fourteen, his father moved the family into the more racially diverse city of Montreal, which became a turning point for Laraque’s game. First, he found a more open and accepting environment in which to play, and second, he began to mature into one of the biggest players on the ice. Growing to six-foot, three-inches and 230 pounds, Laraque was drafted into the NHL in 1995, and quickly formed his reputation as the league’s new enforcer. In 2008, he was named the number one enforcer by

Finally, when he was fourteen, his father moved the family into the more racially diverse city of Montreal, which became a turning point for Laraque’s game. First, he found a more open and accepting environment in which to play, and second, he began to mature into one of the biggest players on the ice. Growing to 6′ 3″ and 230 pounds, Laraque was drafted into the NHL in 1995, and quickly formed his reputation as the league’s new enforcer. In 2008, he was named the number one enforcer by Sports Illustrated. Over his career Laraque played for the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. Off of the ice he is known for his outgoing and friendly personality. Committed and passionate about a number of causes, including animal welfare, relief effort in Haiti, sports, supporting youth, and promoting active, healthy lifestyles, he continues to be involved with numerous charities and hopes to serve as a positive role model to young people.

Over his career Laraque played for the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. Off of the ice he is known for his outgoing and friendly personality. Committed and passionate about a number of causes, including animal welfare, relief effort in Haiti, sports, supporting youth, and promoting active, healthy lifestyles, he continues to be involved with numerous charities and hopes to serve as a positive role model to young people.

 

Books

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Articles & Media

Montreal Canadiens: Georges Laraque Reveals His Top Five Tough Guys

A Winning Habit

During Thursday night’s installment of The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, he and his guest, former Montreal Canadiens tough guy and Quebec native, Georges Laraque touched on the added toughness in the Atlantic Division. Laraque’s passion for the fisticuffs on ice has translated into his off-ice media career, and he continues to discuss fighting in the sport and its importance.
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Former Hab Georges Laraque's Laval card store broken into, thief caught on camera

CTV NEWS

Former Montreal Canadiens enforcer George Laraque is looking for answers after his card store in Laval was robbed, and the thieves were caught on security camera. Laraque posted surveillance camera videos of the theft on his social media accounts and asked anyone who could identify the thief to contact the police. Video from around 1 a.m. on Friday shows an individual in a grey hoodie smash the front window of "Ultime Sports Collection Laval" with a tool and enter.
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‘Smashed and robbed’: Former NHL enforcer posts video of his collectables store getting broken into

GLOBAL NEWS

A sports shop owned by ex-Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque was robbed overnight Thursday, and he is asking anyone who might recognize the thief to contact him. Laraque posted video footage to his various social media accounts on Friday showing his store, Ultime Sports Collection Laval, getting its windows smashed in and its collectible cards and other items stolen.
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Georges Laraque has been teaching Michael Pezzetta how to fight

Montreal Gazette

Former Montreal Canadiens tough-guy Georges Laraque has been teaching current Hab Michael Pezzetta how to improve his fighting skills. After the pair were spotted working together at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, Laraque tweeted, “for several years now, I have been training players to defend themselves or to fight on the ice.” Article content Laraque said the training session came about after Pezetta asked him for a private session, which he offered for free — as is the case with “any other player whom I help.”
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George LaRaque Topic Presentations

the story of the nhl's unlikeliest tough guy

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Think you know NHL tough guy Georges Laraque? Think again. In this intimate, often surprising, biography, Laraque tells the story of a hockey player’s life that is unlike any other, from a childhood facing racism in Quebec’s minor hockey system, to the thrill of the Stanley Cup Finals as an Edmonton Oiler, and sharing a dressing room with Sidney Crosby—and from dropping the gloves on the ice to refusing to back down from much more serious fights off the ice. Honest, startling, and brave, this is a portrait of a hockey player unlike any you’ve seen before.

Testimonials

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FAQ

How to book George LaRaque for an event?

George LaRaque keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. George LaRaque delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire George LaRaque from Montreal, Quebec for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking George LaRaque for an event?

Are you looking to hire George LaRaque for your event? George LaRaque Montreal, Quebec is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. George LaRaque is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. George LaRaque is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like George LaRaque from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book George LaRaque to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, George LaRaque creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like George LaRaque from Montreal, Quebec offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, George LaRaque is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, George LaRaque focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as George LaRaque will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from George LaRaque's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book George LaRaque speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire George LaRaque for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

George LaRaque is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and George LaRaque speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact George LaRaque to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like George LaRaque for your event. As George LaRaque's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with George LaRaque and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

George LaRaque Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like George LaRaque for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent George LaRaque, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book George LaRaque we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact George LaRaque about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire George LaRaque, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.

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