Paul Emard
Sport: Hockey
Year Inducted: 2000
Paul Emard became part owner of the Cornwall Royals in 1968, when a group of Cornwall businessmen took over the team which was moving into the newly formed Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Under the restructured junior hockey program operated by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the QMJHL became one of three leagues eligible for Memorial Cup competition.
Emard was elected President of the team, a post he held until 1981, when he stepped down because of business commitments. During that time, he served on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Board of Governors, and was elected chairman in 1975-76, 1976-77, and 1977-78. He is the only non-resident of Quebec to hold the post.
In March 2000, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League honoured Emard by naming him to the QMJHL Hall of Fame. He was inducted along with former NHL players Denis Savard, Pat LaFontaine, and Normand Dupont. He is the first person never to reside in Quebec to be named to the Hall.
While Emard was President of the Cornwall Royals, the team won three Memorial Cups – 1972, 1980, and 1981.
In 1978, the original partnership group broke up and Emard and Gus Lebrun became sole owners of the team. In 1983, upon the death of Lebrun, Emard became sole owner.
In 1986, with attendance falling, Emard decided it was too much of a financial burden for one person to bear. He was one of the few sole owners of a major junior hockey team.
He could have sold the team to outside interests for considerable gain; but, in an effort to keep the team in Cornwall, he sold for much less to a Cornwall group.
Unfortunately, the group could not sustain the team and it moved to Newmarket in April,1992.
In 2000, Emard was again attempting to bring major junior hockey back to Cornwall.