Bill Durnan

Ronald William "Bill" Durnan ( born January 22, 1916 in Toronto, Ontario, † October 31, 1972 ) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played from 1943 to 1950 for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.

Career

As a teenager, Bill Durnan was playing baseball across the country one of the best pitchers but also have a good goalie. He managed to survive an entire season as a youth goalkeeper without conceding a goal. It seemed a done deal that he signs a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs when he severely injured in a wrestling match with a friend his knee shortly before his 20th birthday. The Leafs did not believe that he could ever play again and it took another 8 years until he should give your debut in the NHL. His style of playing was different from all the other goalkeepers. Durnan was not, as usual, a catch glove and a blocker Blocker, but he had two special fishing gloves with which he could also hold the floor. At a young age he had a trick rehearsed, with which he could switch the stick from one to the other hand quickly. With this type of playing he was the sensation at the Montreal Canadiens and won in his first four years in each case the Vezina Trophy. He was instrumental in the Stanley Cup victories in 1944 and 1946. Bill was the last goalie in the NHL for the next 60 years, who was also team captain. His frequent trips to discuss with the referees, the NHL brought to it to be gatekeepers to prohibit team captain. He managed to survive four consecutive games and a total of 309:21 minutes without conceding a goal. According to him, only managed again Brian Boucher in the 2003/04 season his goal for a long time to keep a clean sheet. In the playoffs in 1950, he retired from an opponent's skate a deep cut on his face and then finished at the age of 35 years of his career.

After his playing career, he worked in sales for a brewery.

In 1964 he was honored with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

NHL stats

Sporting successes

  • Stanley Cup: 1944 and 1946

Personal Awards

  • First All -Star Team: 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1950
  • Vezina Trophy: 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1950

Pictures of Bill Durnan

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