Playing Career
Born in Eveleth, Minnesota, Brimsek was one of the first great American hockey players. In the 1938–39 season, he was promoted to the Bruins following an injury to goaltender Tiny Thompson.
He played his first game for the Bruins in Montreal December 1, 1938, and the Bruins were beaten, 2·0. He played his second game at Chicago, December 4, and won, 5-0. His first game in Boston was December 6 in which he shut out Chicago, 2-0. He went to New York on December 11 and shut out the Rangers, 3-0.
Prior to the Bruins, Brimsek played goal at Eveleth High, where he succeeded Mike Karakas, at St. Cloud’s Teacher's College(now St. Cloud State University), and for the Pittsburgh Yellowjackets. He trained with the Bruins at Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1937, and was optioned to the Providence Reds for the season. He trained again with the Bruins in the fall of 1938.
He notched 10 shutouts in his first season, earning him the nickname "Mr. Zero." He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year, and helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1938-39, and again in 1940-41.
In 1943, the Second World War interrupted Brimsek's career, and he joined the Coast Guard. He played on the Coast Guard "Cutters" hockey team and then served aboard a Coast Guard supply ship in the Pacific until the end of the war.
He resumed his career with the Bruins in 1945-46 and played with them until 1948-49, when he was sold to the Chicago Black Hawks where he played his final year in the NHL. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 (the first American NHL player to earn HHOF membership) and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. In 1998, shortly before his death, he was ranked number 67 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
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