August "Gus" Bodnar (April 24, 1923 – July 1, 2005) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

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who was the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

winner as the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

's rookie of the year for the 1943-44 season. He played 12 seasons in the NHL from 1943 to 1955, for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

Playing career

A native of Fort William, Ontario, Bodnar started his career with the local Fort William Rangers of the

Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league that existed from c. 1920 to 1980. The TBJHL operated in Northwestern Ontario, primarily in the Thunder Bay region. The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League wa ...

. He played for the Rangers for three seasons from 1941–43 and competed for the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

twice in 1941–42 and 1942–43. After leading the TBJHL in points in 1942–43, Bodnar joined the

. On October 30, 1943, Bodnar scored his first ever NHL goal 15 seconds in his first NHL game, setting the record for fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game. Bodnar scored 62 points during the regular season, a career best, and he beat

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

rookie goaltender

Bill Durnan William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his career he was one of the most domin ...

in voting for the

in 1943–44. He spent four more seasons with the Maple Leafs and won two Stanley Cups in 1944–45 and 1946–47. Bodnar had 40 assists in his rookie season in 1943–44, which would set a record for assists by a Maple Leafs rookie until surpassed by

Mitch Marner Mitchell Marner (born May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry ...

in 2016–17. In 1947–48, Bodnar and fellow linemates Gaye Stewart, Ernie Dickens,

Bud Poile Norman Robert "Bud" Poile (February 10, 1924 – January 4, 2005) was a professional ice hockey player, coach, general manager, and league executive. Bud is the brother of Don Poile, and the father of David Poile. Overview Poile was born in Fo ...

and Bob Goldham were traded to the

in exchange for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas. Bodnar remained in Chicago for seven seasons from 1947 to 1954. He also played in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

in 1950–51. On March 23, 1952, Bodnar set another NHL record by recording three assists in 21 seconds. With that record, he also helped teammate Bill Mosienko set the record for fastest

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in NHL history In 1953–54, Bodnar was traded to the

midway through the season. He would remain with the Bruins for one more season in 1954–55, before retiring.

Coaching career

Bodnar retired from playing hockey in 1955, but later came back to coach. Bodnar coached in the Boston farm system with the Lakeshore Bruins in the Metro Jr.B league, they won the League Championship in 57/58 and went to the OHA Jr.B Championship round. He was the coach and manager of the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

from 1967 to 1968. He coached the Marlboros to a

championship in 1966–67. In 1970, Bodnar was named head coach of the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

in the WHL. He remained there for one season before signing on as head coach of the Oshawa Generals in the OHA from 1971 to 1976. He was the recipient of the OHA Coach of the Year Award in 1971–72.

Legacy

Bodnar was elected to the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, and the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. On July 1, 2005, Bodnar died at the Lakeridge Health Unit in Oshawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Awards and achievements

winner in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. * Stanley Cup champion in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

and 1947. *Played in 1951 NHL All-Star Game. *

champion in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

(as head coach). * OHA Coach of the Year award winner in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

. *Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. *Inducted into the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Records

* On October 30, 1943, in his first game, Bodnar scored a goal 15 seconds into the game, setting the record for fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game. * On March 23, 1952, Bodnar set a NHL record for recording 3 assists in 21 seconds. * Record rookie assists 1943–44 season (surpassed in 2017 by

with 42 assists)

Career statistics

Transactions

* November 2, 1947 - Traded to the

by the

with

, Gaye Stewart, Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas. * February 16, 1954 - Traded to the

by the Chicago Black Hawks for Jerry Toppazzini.

References

External links

*
Picture of Gus Bodnar's Name on the 1945 Stanley Cup plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodnar, Gus 1923 births 2005 deaths Boston Bruins players Calder Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Thunder Bay Oshawa Generals coaches Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches