Brad Thiessen (born March 19, 1986) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who played briefly in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. Thiessen played three seasons in the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

before playing three seasons of collegiate ice hockey at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

. In his junior season at Northeastern, Thiessen was named

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

Player of the Year, a conference all-star, an NCAA first-team All-American, and a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

"hat trick" finalist. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Thiessen signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Playing career

Amateur

Thiessen played three seasons in the junior A

. In 2003–04 with the

Penticton Panthers The Penticton Vees are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. The junior Vees were founded in 1961, sharing the name of the senior hockey team, the Penticton ...

, Thiessen appeared in 42 games, finishing with a record of 13–17–1. The following season with the

Prince George Spruce Kings The Prince George Spruce Kings are a junior ice hockey team based in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Interior Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at the Kopar Memor ...

, he finished 12–22–1. In his final season of junior hockey with the

and

Merritt Centennials The Merritt Centennials are a junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Merritt, British Columbia. They are members of the Bill Ohlhausen Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). They play their home game ...

in 2005–06 (he was traded during the season), Thiessen achieved career best statistics with a 22–21–4 record, a 2.88 goals against average, and a .922 save percentage. After junior hockey, Thiessen played for

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for three seasons, from 2006 to 2009. During his freshman season in 2006–07, Thiessen was named to the

All-Rookie team. That season he appeared in 33 games, earning an 11–17–5 record. The next season, he was 16–17–3. In Thiessen's junior year during the 2008–09 season, he led the team to one of its most successful seasons, including its first trip to the NCAA tournament in over 15 years. He was the 2008–09

Player of the Year, a Hockey East all-star, an NCAA All-American, and a finalist for the

. That season, Thiessen set school records for wins (25), goals against average (2.12), save percentage (.931), saves (1,195), games (41) and minutes played (2,495:44). He led the NCAA in saves, was third in minutes played, and fourth in save percentage. He also became Northeastern's all-time top goaltender in goals against average (2.40), save percentage (.922) and shutouts (9).

Professional

After his third year at Northeastern, rather than play his senior season, Thiessen signed as an

with the

and joined the organization's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, though appeared in no games that season. After the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins season ended, Thiessen was among a number of players who participated with the Pittsburgh Penguins in practice during the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

. Though he never dressed for a game, Thiessen was with the team when they defeated the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in game seven to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. He was included on the team picture, and awarded a Stanley Cup ring before playing his first pro game. Thiessen split time during the 2009–10 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and their

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

affiliate

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...

. In 30 regular season appearances with the Penguins, Thiessen earned a 14–14–1 record, while he was 8–3–0 with Wheeling. During the 2010–11 season, Thiessen was named as the Eastern Conference's starting goaltender for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic. At the time of the All-Star break, Thiessen led the AHL with 17 wins. He became the second Penguin to be named to the All-Star team after

Dany Sabourin Dany Sabourin (born September 2, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender. Playing career Drafted in the fourth round, 108th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, he played four games with Ca ...

in 2006. On his 25th birthday, he became the third Penguins goaltender to record 30 wins in a single season, joining Dany Sabourin ( 2005–06) and John Curry ( 2007–08). On March 24, 2011, Thiessen was recalled by the

due to an injury to backup goalie

Brent Johnson Brent Spencer Johnson (born March 12, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is curre ...

, but did not play in an NHL game. Brad Thiessen 1st NHL Win 2012-02-26

On February 24, 2012, Thiessen was recalled by the Penguins again and on February 26 he played in his first NHL game, registering his first career NHL win, 4–2 against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. On March 7, 2012, Thiessen recorded his second career win in just as many starts. The Penguins overcame a 2–0 deficit to beat 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

3–2. On July 15, 2013, Thiessen opted to leave North America and signed his first European contract with

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

of the Finnish

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

. After only 8 games, Thiessen opted to end his HIFK career and was mutually released on November 19, 2013. On November 28, 2013, he signed a contract with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hockey ...

of the AHL for the remainder of the season. On July 3, 2014, Thiessen was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

. At the tail end of the season, on April 5, 2015, Thiessen was called up by the Calgary from the

Adirondack Flames The Adirondack Flames were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Glens Falls, New York, and played at the 4,794 seat Glens Falls Civic Center. They were the top affiliate of the Calgary Flames of ...

and served as backup without making his debut for the club. As a free agent at the conclusion of his contract with the Flames, Thiessen went un-signed over the summer before accepting a professional try-out contract to attend the

training camp on September 16, 2015. On September 23, he was reassigned by the Blue Jackets to attend AHL affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

, training camp. He was later signed by the Monsters to a two-way AHL/ECHL contract and was assigned to affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones. He announced his retirement on June 3, 2021, after finishing his sixth season within the Cleveland Monsters organization.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiessen, Brad 1986 births Living people Adirondack Flames players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Cleveland Monsters players HIFK (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Lake Erie Monsters players Norfolk Admirals players Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey players People from Langley, British Columbia (district municipality) Pittsburgh Penguins players Prince George Spruce Kings players Undrafted National Hockey League players Wheeling Nailers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland