Frank William "Bill, Flash" Hollett (April 13, 1911 – April 20, 1999) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played 13 seasons 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 ...

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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and

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 ...

. Hollett was born in

North Sydney, Nova Scotia North Sydney (Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmawi'simk: ''Kweso'mkiaq'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Suidni A Tuath'' or ''Am Bàr'') is a former town and current community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Located on the north side of Sydn ...

, but grew up in

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Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Playing career

Hollett was first noticed by Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe as he was playing lacrosse with

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher ( ; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "the Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

.Legends of Hockey – NHL Player Search – Player – Flash Hollett
/ref> He apprenticed in the minor leagues before being loaned to the Senators for the

1933–34 NHL season The 1933–34 NHL season was the 17th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The Chicago Black Hawks were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Detroit Red Wings three games to one. League business The ...

. After that - which was the original Senators' final season in Ottawa - Hollett played for the Leafs for a season and a half before being sold to the Bruins for $16,000, at the time one of the highest prices ever paid for a player. Known for his swift skating stride and strong puckhandling ability, Hollett became one of the top offensive defencemen of his day. He played for eight seasons in Boston, and was a star

on the Bruins'

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 ...

championship teams of

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

and

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

. In

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, he set a record for goals by a defenceman with 19, a mark he tied the following season, after which he was named to the league's Second All-Star Team. Hollett was traded to the Red Wings midseason in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

, and the following year broke his own mark for goals in a season by a defenceman with 20 en route to a citation on the league's First All-Star Team; this record would stand for a quarter-century before being surpassed by

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the ...

Retirement

After his record-setting season, Hollett's offensive numbers declined sharply in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, with the previously war-depleted NHL regaining many former stars. In the wake of an acrimonious contract dispute with Detroit general manager Jack Adams, he was traded to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, but following his wife's wishes to live closer to home in Ontario, Hollett retired from the NHL. He played for five more seasons in senior leagues, most notably for the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

, which he led to the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...

in 1950, his last in organized hockey. He coached the Marlboros for a single season in 1951, recording a 19–12–1 record. Hollett retired having scored 132 goals and 181 assists for 313 points in 565 NHL games; at the time of his retirement, he was the highest scoring defenceman in league history. In 79 NHL playoff games, he added 8 goals and 26 assists for 34 points. Hollett was the last member of the original-era Ottawa Senators still active at the time of his retirement. In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time. Bruins Announce “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
Picture of 1941 Stanley Cup Plaque
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollett, Flash 1911 births 1999 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of English descent Detroit Red Wings captains Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Ottawa Senators (1917) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Ottawa Senators (original) players People from North Sydney, Nova Scotia Sportspeople from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Stanley Cup champions Syracuse Stars (IHL) players Toronto Maple Leafs players