Robert Fillion

This is 2 time Stanley Cup champion Robert Fillion. His name is inscribed on the Stanley Cup in 1944 as Bob as he was known as "Bobby" when he first broke into the National Hockey League. In 1946 it is inscribed as Robert.

Fillion played 327 games in the 1940s with Rocket Richard's Montreal Canadiens. He scored 42 career goals and 103 points, adding another 7 goals and 11 points in 33 playoff games.

The 5'10" 170lbs left winger out of Thetford Mines, Quebec was a junior teammate of Rocket Richard. But in the NHL he was turned into "a fine checker." In his best season he scored 30 points (1943-44 as a rookie). Two years later he posted a career best 10 goals.

"I had been a high scorer in junior but the Canadiens made me into a defensive forward, just like they did with Guy Carbonneau," he described many years later.

He may not have been a Picasso on the ice but Fillion was very much interested in artists of a different sort. He often visited artist studios while on road trips and took up painting himself! It may have been a bigger passion for him than hockey!

Bob, the brother of Marcel Fillion who played 1 game in the NHL, worked in public relations for years after retiring from hockey. He also went back home to work in a mine in Thetford Mines before retiring to Montreal's south shore. He was a regular guest at Montreal Canadiens games right through to his final season.