Brett Hull

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Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Nickname	The Golden Brett
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
Pro Clubs	Phoenix Coyotes Detroit Red Wings Dallas Stars St. Louis Blues Calgary Flames
Nationality	United States &  Canada
Born	August 9, 1964, Belleville, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	117th overall, 1984 Calgary Flames
Pro Career	1986 – 2005

Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964 in Belleville, Ontario) is a former NHL player, the son of legendary player Bobby Hull and nephew of Dennis Hull. Though in the earliest years of his career few saw him as a potential star, the colorful and often outspoken Hull announced his retirement on October 15, 2005 with 741 career goals, placing him third on the all-time list. He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes.

Contents 1 Hockey career 1.1 Playing 1.2 In Retirement 2 Personal life 3 Criticism 4 Career achievements and facts 5 Career statistics 6 International play 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Hockey career

[edit] Playing

Brett Hull was drafted out of the Junior A British Columbia Junior Hockey League's Penticton Knights as the 117th overall pick (sixth round) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. Hull then played two years of U.S. college hockey for the University of Minnesota-Duluth before turning pro during the 1986 NHL playoffs. He spent most of the 1986-87 season with the minor league Moncton Golden Flames, being named to the AHL's First All-Star Team and receiving the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the league's top rookie, before being recalled to the NHL for good in the 1987-88 NHL season. On March 7, 1988, after repeatedly publicly criticizing the City of Calgary and the organization, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues, for whom he played most of his career.

While in St. Louis, Hull developed into a prolific goal scorer with linemate Adam Oates in the 89-90 season and the duo were dubbed "Hull and Oates" (a pun on the well-known musical duo of Hall & Oates). In Hull’s best season, 1990-91, he scored 86 goals, the third highest mark ever recorded in one season, also setting a new record for right wingers in goals. That year he was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

Following the 1991-92 NHL season, the St. Louis Blues traded Adam Oates to the Boston Bruins for Craig Janney. Although talented, Janney was not to the calibre of Oates, a highly skilled hockeyplayer. Hull's production dropped off and he said he was never the same player without Oates.

Hull played eleven seasons for the Blues before signing with the Dallas Stars as a free agent before the 1998-99 NHL season. During his initial season, his traditional jersey number, 16, was being worn by Stars forward Pat Verbeek, so Hull wore number 22 for that season, switching back to 16 in the 1999 offseason after Verbeek left the team. He helped the Stars capture the Stanley Cup that season, scoring what many consider to be a controversial Cup-winning goal off his own rebound in the third overtime period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek. Video replay showed that Hull's skate was in the crease, which the Sabres argued was a violation of a rule then in effect that disallowed goals if an offensive player was in the goal crease. The goal was reviewed as the Stars celebrated on the ice, but was allowed to stand by the video review officials, who ruled that Hull's three consecutive shots on Hasek, the third of which went in, constituted possession of the puck through to the end of the play (the rule allowed for a player to bring the puck into the crease and score). The legality of the goal is still debated, and it is arguably the most disputed Cup-winning goal in NHL history. The crease interference rule, which was introduced in 1997 amid widespread criticism, was eliminated the following season. Hull and Hasek later won the Stanley Cup as teammates in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings.

In 2001, Hull joined the Red Wings as a free-agent. Like Verbeek two years prior, Hull did not ask for jersey number 16, which the Wings had removed from circulation out of respect for Vladimir Konstantinov, whose career had ended in a limousine accident six days after the Wings' 1997 Stanley Cup victory. For his three seasons in Detroit, Hull wore number 17, and he continued to play strongly. After participating in the 2002 Winter Olympics, earning a silver medal with Team USA, Hull played a key role in the Wings' 2002 Cup victory, scoring 10 goals en route to his second Cup. Hull would eventually pair up with young Red Wings stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on a line Hull would dub "Two Kids and a Goat".

On August 6, 2004, Hull signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, who unretired his dads jersey for him. Bobby Hull's #9 jersey had been originally retired by the franchise on February 19, 1989, when they were the Winnipeg Jets. The first year of the contract was nullified by the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and some argue the time off damaged Hull's game irreparably; when hockey restarted in 2005-06, Hull played only 5 games with the Coyotes before, dissatisfied with his performance, he announced his retirement on October 15, 2005. The University of Minnesota-Duluth retired his #29 jersey on February 3, 2006[1], and later that same year, on December 5, 2006, the St. Louis Blues retired his #16. The Blues also changed the name of the stretch of Clark Avenue, the street that Scottrade Center between 14th and 15th Streets in St. Louis, to "Brett Hull Way" and have also announced plans to number the road such that the arena will be number 16. In a recent interview during Hockey Night in Canada, Hull was quoted as saying that he would never coach hockey. He also said the best big-game goalie he ever played with was Ed Belfour, during his time in Dallas, and that the best offensive defensemen he had played with were Sergei Zubov and Nicklas Lidstrom. The player he said he hated to play against was Chris Chelios. The coaches he said he liked the most was Ken Hitchcock and Scotty Bowman. The person that he said he disliked the most was Mike Keenan.

[edit] In Retirement

As of the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Hull has returned to the Dallas Stars in a front-office role as special assistant to team president Jim Lites, identifying himself in Dallas Stars television commercials as the team's "Ambassador of Fun", as well as "Campaign Manager" for Stars players hoping to be voted to the 2007 All Star Game, to be held in Dallas. Hull also answers fan-submitted questions in a weekly editoral entitled "Brett's Bites" on DallasStars.com, and is a part-time television and radio analyst for the Stars, and a studio analyst for the NHL on NBC.[2] He also does a weekly radio segment on Dallas sports-talk station KTCK.

[edit] Personal life

He married fellow University of Minnesota-Duluth student Alison Curran in Las Vegas on May 27, 1997. They had three children - Jude, Jayde, and Crosby - before they divorced. Hull married longtime girlfriend Darcie Schollmeyer on July 21, 2006 in Cabo San Lucas.

[edit] Criticism

Hull often served as a magnet for criticism in his hockey career, often revolving around his perceived defensive deficiencies.^{[citation needed]} He was outspoken throughout his career, willing to talk openly about his team, city, fans, coaching, or the NHL as a whole.^{[citation needed]} Hull carried on a well-reported feud with coach/GM “Iron Mike” Keenan for several years while Keenan headed the Blues, was one of the first players to criticize the defense-first style of hockey that rose in the mid-1990s, and publicly criticized U.S. coaches (Bob Johnson and Ron Wilson) during international competitions for not giving him the ice time he felt he was due.^{[citation needed]}

In 1986, Hull made a decision that would earn him the lasting hatred of many Canadian hockey fans when, not chosen for Team Canada by coach Dave King for a World Championship team made up of mostly NHL players, Hull chose to play for the mostly-collegiate United States National Team instead. Hull held American citizenship through his mother in addition to his Canadian citizenship by birthplace and father. As a mostly Canadian-trained player, the son of a Canadian hockey legend, born in Canada, fans north of the border viewed The Golden Brett as nothing less than a traitor, particularly as his stardom grew. Hull responded that he had been turned down by Canada, whom he had tried out for first.^[1]

Hull has been quite critical of the NHL, its cable television partner, Versus, and commissioner Gary Bettman. He appeared on WFAN in February 2007. "I don't even think people know Versus is a station," he said, calling it "a ridiculously bad channel." On Bettman, "I don't think he really understands the game. He doesn't understand the history, and at times I don't think he really gives a hoot. All he cares about is if he's making the owners happy." http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-briefing19feb19,1,4833542.story?track=rss

[edit] Career achievements and facts

• Finished his career with 741 goals (3rd all-time), 650 assists (48th all-time), 1391 points (19th all-time) and 1269 games (43rd all-time).
• Named a NHL First Team All-Star in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
• Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1990.
• Won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1991.
• Won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1991.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2001.
• Scored 50 goals in 50 games twice in his career; only Wayne Gretzky, with three 50-50 seasons, has done it more often.
• Won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award in 1987.
• Recorded 33 career Hat Tricks (4th all-time).
• Led the NHL in Goals scored in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
• All-time career leader in Playoff Powerplay Goals with 38.
• Tied for 1st on the all-time Playoff Game Winning Goals list with 24.
• Holds the St. Louis Blues franchise record for goals scored with 527.
• Is the only hockey player ever to score 50 goals in a season in the NCAA, the minor leagues, and the NHL. In 1985-86 he scored 52 goals for the U. of Minnesota-Duluth; in 1986-87 he scored 50 goals for the Moncton Golden Flames of the AHL, and from 1989-1994 recorded 5 straight 50+ goal seasons (72,86,70,54,57) for the St. Louis Blues.
• In 1998, before reaching several career milestones, he was ranked number 64 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
• Won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1998-1999.
• On December 5, 2006, his #16 sweater was retired by the St. Louis Blues and raised to the rafters of the Scottrade Center. Along with his father, Bobby, they are the only father-son combo in any professional sport to have their respective numbers retired.

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984-85	Minnesota-Duluth	NCAA		48	32	28	60	12
1985-86	Minnesota-Duluth	NCAA		42	52	32	84	46
1985-86	Calgary Flames	NHL		--	--	--	--	--		2	0	0	0	0
1986-87	Moncton Golden Flames	AHL		67	50	42	92	16		3	2	2	4	2
1986-87	Calgary Flames	NHL		5	1	0	1	0		4	2	1	3	0
1987-88	Calgary Flames	NHL		52	26	24	50	12		--	--	--	--	--
1987-88	St. Louis Blues	NHL		13	6	8	14	4		10	7	2	9	4
1988-89	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78	41	43	84	33		10	5	5	10	6
1989-90	St. Louis Blues	NHL		80	72	41	113	24		12	13	8	21	17
1990-91	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78	86	45	131	22		13	11	8	19	4
1991-92	St. Louis Blues	NHL		73	70	39	109	48		6	4	4	8	4
1992-93	St. Louis Blues	NHL		80	54	47	101	41		11	8	5	13	2
1993-94	St. Louis Blues	NHL		81	57	40	97	38		4	2	1	3	0
1994-95	St. Louis Blues	NHL		48	29	21	50	10		7	6	2	8	0
1995-96	St. Louis Blues	NHL		70	43	40	83	30		13	6	5	11	10
1996-97	St. Louis Blues	NHL		77	42	40	82	10		6	2	7	9	2
1997-98	St. Louis Blues	NHL		66	27	45	72	26		10	3	3	6	2
1998-99	Dallas Stars	NHL		60	32	26	58	30		22	8	7	15	4
1999-00	Dallas Stars	NHL		79	24	35	59	43		23	11	13	24	4
2000-01	Dallas Stars	NHL		79	39	40	79	18		10	2	5	7	6
2001-02	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		82	30	33	63	35		23	10	8	18	4
2002-03	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		82	37	39	76	22		4	0	1	1	0
2003-04	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		81	25	43	68	12		12	3	2	5	4
2005-06	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		5	0	1	1	0		--	--	--	--	--
NHL Totals				1269	741	650	1391	458		202	103	87	190	73

[edit] International play

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Silver	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice Hockey

Played for United States in:

• 1986 World Championship
• 1991 Canada Cup
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey (won championship)
• 1998 Winter Olympic Games
• 2002 Winter Olympic Games (won silver medal)

[edit] See also

• List of NHL players
• 50 goals in 50 games
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• Notable families in the NHL
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played
• List of NHL players with 500 goals

[edit] References

Horn, Barry. "Former Star Hull to join NBC's hockey team", The Dallas Morning News, 2006-12-06, pp. 7C. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.

[edit] External links

• Brett Hull at HockeyDraftCentral.com
• Brett's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Brett Hull to move to NBC Studio

Preceded by Joe Mullen	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1990	Succeeded by Wayne Gretzky
Preceded by Mark Messier	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1991	Succeeded by Mark Messier
Preceded by Mark Messier	Lester B. Pearson Award Winner 1991	Succeeded by Mark Messier
Preceded by Mario Lemieux	NHL Goal Leader 1990, 1991, 1992	Succeeded by Teemu Selänne, Alexander Mogilny
Preceded by Garth Butcher	St. Louis Blues captains 1992-95	Succeeded by Shayne Corson