Portal:Ice hockey/Selected biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929—May 31, 1970) was a left-handed Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, best known for having, at the time of his retirement won more regular season games and recorded regular season shutouts than any other National Hockey League player; for having won rookie of the year honors in the United States Hockey League and American Hockey League and thereafter the same award, styled as the Calder Memorial Trophy, at the NHL level; for having thrice been the starting goaltender on a Stanley Cup-winning team (in 1952 and 1954 with the Detroit Red Wings and in 1967 with the Toronto Maple Leafs; for having on four occasions won the Vezina Trophy, pictured, as the NHL's best goaltender; for having three times been selected as an NHL All-Star Game first-team player; for having posthumously won the Lester Patrick Trophy for service to his sport; for having been depicted on a Canadian postage stamp subsequent to his death; and for having, in view of the former, been elected to the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sawchuk, nicknamed Uke in view of his Ukrainian heritage, began his organized amateur ice hockey career in 1947, aged just 17 years in the junior A United States Hockey League, and played professionally one season later with the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League, considered, alongside the International Hockey League, the best minor professional North American league, and began his National Hockey League career near the end of the 1949-50 season, playing just seven games but compiling a 2.29 goals-against average.
In Sawhcuk's first full NHL season in 1950-51, Sawchuk played every minute of each of 70 regular season game, winning the Calder Trophy by posting a 1.99 goals-against average, recording 11 shutouts and winning 44 games whilst conceding 13 draws and suffering just 13 losses. Sawchuk would play in all 4200 minutes of the subsequent season, once more winning 44 games while completing 12 shutouts to earn the Vezina Trophy and first-team honors in the Fifth NHL All-Star Game; in the postseason, the Red Wings, behind Sawchuk, won four consecutive games against each of the Maple Leafs and Montréal Canadiens to win the 1951-52 Stanley Cup finals.
Sawchuk once more led the league in goaltender wins in 1952-53, winning the Vezina Trophy and helping the Red Wings to the Prince of Wales Trophy before sustaining an injury in practice with seven games remaining in the regular season; the Red Wings replaced Sawchuk with Glenn Hall, but the team fell in the Stanley Cup semifinals to the Boston Bruins. Sawchuk would play 68 games in both the 1953-54 and 1954-55 seasons, totalling 24 shutouts and 75 wins and winning the 1954-55 Vezina Trophy. Although Harry Lumley of the Toronto Maple Leafs won the 1953-54 Vezina, Sawchuk led the Red Wings past the Maple Leafs in the five games in the best-of-seven-game semifinals before completing all seven games of the Stanley Cup finals, helping the Red Wings to the franchise's fifth Stanley Cup.
Read more about Terry Sawchuk...
