King on CHL: Beauregard’s biggest battle
Posted January 18, 2012 10:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was the biggest moment of his career, and Alexandre Beauregard wouldn’t let his teammates forget it.
He was 19 then, a lesser-known forward in charge of dishing out checks and keeping the other team’s top lines in check. No one would have picked him to seize the moment in double overtime on a team so loaded with talent. Beauregard hadn’t yet even scored a goal in the playoffs, a fact his teammates would remind him of constantly.
After picking up a turnover in the offensive zone, Beauregard did little more than throw it on net from near the left half-wall. But as the puck sailed over Gatineau goalie Maxime Clermont’s glove, the improbable celebration commenced. Beauregard found Jonathan Huberdeau in the pandemonium, one of his Saint John Sea Dogs teammates who poked fun at his drought, so he could get the last laugh.
“Yeah,” Beauregard said with a smile, “I only score when it’s important.”
The goal gave the President’s Cup Trophy to the Sea Dogs, crowning them Québec Major Junior Hockey League champions. Two weeks later, they would win the biggest prize, capturing the MasterCard Memorial Cup in Mississauga, Ont.
Although no longer teammates, as an early-season trade sent the now overage Beauregard to Chicoutimi, he’s in his former teammates’ thoughts and prayers. Less than a year after reaching what must have then seemed like the highest mountain, Beauregard now faces his steepest climb.
It was announced on Monday that the former Sea Dogs fan-favourite and playoff hero was diagnosed with cancer to the thyroid gland. His biggest fight is just beginning.
Beauregard broke the news to his Saguenéens teammates in Chicoutimi on Monday, with a press release issued later that day. He returned home to Saint-Jérôme, Que., where he will undergo cancer treatment in nearby Montreal.
Beauregard asked that the media not contact him in these difficult times. His head coach in Chicoutimi, Marc-Étienne Hubert, offered few details, preferring to keep Beauregard’s life private as per his player’s wishes.
“The main thing here with Alexandre is that we’re going to help and support the person he is now and not just as a hockey player,” Hubert said. “Every teammate he has here really appreciates him and they’re going to do whatever it takes to make him feel a part of the team and feel all the support he deserves.”
An ankle injury sidelined him in late December. Upon visiting with Chicoutimi team doctors, he was referred to a specialist when a bump was discovered. There’s no timetable for his recovery, but the gritty forward is putting on a brave face and looking towards the future.
“The announcement came as a shock, that’s for sure,” Beauregard stated in the press release, translated from French. “I don’t think it’s the end of the world, however. My objective is to return to the game to help the Saguenéens in the playoffs.”
Beauregard received an outpouring of support since the announcement. Many of his former Sea Dogs teammates were among the well-wishers, including Huberdeau, a family friend. Huberdeau’s older brother, Sebastien, played minor hockey with Beauregard, and one of their biggest fans was the impressionable Jonathan.
When the Sea Dogs were in trade talks with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies before last season’s trade deadline, it was Huberdeau who vouched for his character. Now Huberdeau’s vouching for his health.
“He’s a strong guy and I think he’ll get through it,” he said. “I’m pretty positive with that.”
It’s been rather easy for players like Huberdeau to put things in perspective when another young person’s life is in peril. Suddenly, those long bus rides and the nagging injuries are seen for what they are as mere minor inconveniences.
Huberdeau, who missed nearly two months with a broken foot earlier this season, got similar perspective on his injury while seeing some of the life-and-death situations some of the patients he shared a room with faced in the hospital.
“When it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, it’s the end of the world,'” he said of his injury. “But after, you think it’s nothing — for they have to stay alive. They’re fighting to stay alive, so little things like that doesn’t really matter for you.”
Now it’s his childhood friend and former teammate whose life is in jeopardy.
Beauregard’s teammates in Chicoutimi were so taken aback by the news they hadn’t yet announced any plans, such as dedicating the season to their recovering friend. When or if they do, it’s not likely to be made public.
“We put everything in perspective when something like that happens,” Hubert said. “And then it’s easier to appreciate all the little things life brings to us each day when we know that health is fragile.”
Even memories of scoring the championship-winning goal now seem so minor when someone’s health is at stake.
“Fighting cancer is the biggest hurdle of his life right now,” Huberdeau said. “There’s a lot of highlights in his life, but to keep going with his life, I think that’s the biggest highlight for his life. I’m positive he’ll get through it.
“He needs to beat it and I think he’ll do it.”
In the unbiased world of sports reporting, here’s one instance where we can pick a side. We’re all pulling for you, Alex. May this be the sweetest victory of your life.
Fans can send Beauregard positive vibes on Twitter @AlexBo125.
