Michel Brière
Michel Édouard Brière ( born October 21, 1949 in Malartic, Quebec, † April 13, 1971 ) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the North American National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1969 to 1970. On May 15, 1970 his career was ended by a serious car accident.
Career
Michel Brière began his career in 1967 in the Canadian Junior Football League Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in Shawinigan Bruins. There he developed into a very good young player, scored 320 points in just two years and was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round at position 26 in the NHL Amateur Draft 1969.
During the season 1969/70 scored 44 points and Brière was an important key figure in the catchment of the Penguins in the playoffs. He was considered a great talent and has often been compared with young stars such as Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke. But a car accident on May 15, 1970 ended his career.
Brière was at this time in his home town of Malartic to attend a wedding. In the traffic accident he was thrown from the vehicle and suffered severe brain injuries. After the accident, Brière fell for almost seven weeks in a coma from which indeed he awoke, but then suffered almost a year from memory loss. Despite several operations, Brière never recovered and died on 13 April 1971 in a hospital in Malartic.
In honor of Brière the Pittsburgh Penguins closed the shirt number 21 in 2001. It is next to the number 66 by Mario Lemieux is the only locked back number with the Penguins. The QMJHL honored him, in which they named the trophy for the most valuable player in the league for him, which carries the name Trophée Michel Brière.