The Canadiens, who owned Rousseau’s NHL rights, loaned him to Kitchener-Waterloo, a senior team, to represent Canada at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. Rousseau had nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games, Canada winning silver to the gold of Team USA.
Rousseau joined Hull-Ottawa of the Eastern Professional Hockey League for the 1960-61 season, with 34 goals in 38 games, and played his first 15 NHL games with the Canadiens.
His first NHL goale came in his seventh game, on Nov. 11, 1960, on New York Rangers’ United States native Jack McCartan, whom he’d faced at the Olympics. Assists went to Jean Beliveau and, naturally, Geoffrion.
The Calder Trophy came the following year for his 21-goal, 24-assist season and his NHL career unfolded, Stanley Cup championships on the way in 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969; he led the Canadiens in scoring in 1965-66 and 1966-67, both times finishing in the NHL’s top 10.
