Larry Courville was a professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player who spent parts of three seasons in the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

. He currently serves as head coach of the Reading Royals

Reading Royals

The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the Atlantic Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Sovereign Center located in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania...

 of the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

.

Courville was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 5th round (119th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft

1993 NHL Entry Draft

The 1993 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 26, 1993, at the Colisee de Quebec in Quebec City, Quebec.-Selections by round:Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise specified.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...

. He had an excellent final OHL

Ontario Hockey League

The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....

 season in 1994–95 in which he scored 73 points and was a key component of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 1995 World Junior Championships

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 20 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world...

, but was unable to come to contract terms with Winnipeg. As a result, he re-entered the draft and was selected 61st overall by the Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

 in the 1995 NHL draft

1995 NHL Entry Draft

The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. Instead, a draft lottery was instituted in which the winner of the lottery could move...

.

Courville had a fine first professional season the following year with Vancouver AHL

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 affiliate in Syracuse

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

, scoring 49 points and earning a 3-game callup to the Canucks, where he scored his first NHL goal. Over the next two seasons, he would continue to be a frequent callup, seeing 30 more games in the NHL with Vancouver. However, he struggled to produce recording just 2 assists.

After spending four seasons in the Canuck organization, Courville was released in 1999 and signed with the San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

. Courville's grit and leadership proved a valuable asset to the Sharks' farm team in Kentucky

Kentucky Thoroughblades

The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena...

, but he failed to see any action with the Sharks in two seasons with the organization.

Since leaving the San Jose organization, Courville has played in the minor leagues. He was possibly the biggest name player in the short-lived North Eastern Hockey League

North Eastern Hockey League

The North Eastern Hockey League was a semi-professional ice hockey league from 2003 until 2008. It was created by entrepreneur Jim Cashman, who served as league president. The NEHL was built to focus on giving players that were not quite ready for the ECHL, United Hockey League, and the Central...

, playing for the York IceCats in the 2003–04 season. After spending three seasons with the Reading Royals, Courville retired.

He was named interim head coach for the Royals on January 6, 2009, replacing Jason Nobili and returned as head coach for the 2009-2010 season.

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