Richard "King Richard", "Kermit" Brodeur (born September 15, 1952), is 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 ...

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 ...

. He was one of a select group of goaltenders to play in every season of the seven-year existence of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

, doing so with the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

. Brodeur was the starting goaltender for each of Quebec's runs to the Avco Cup Final, where they lost in 1975 and won in 1977. He moved over to 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 ...

in 1979, playing just two games before being moved to the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. He then was moved over to the

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

in 1980, where he played the next eight seasons and led the team to their first ever

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

appearance in 1982. He closed out his career with six games behind the net with the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

in 1987 and play with their

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 Binghamton in 1988.

Early life

Brodeur was born in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and grew up in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Playing career

Brodeur was selected in the 1972 NHL Entry Draft by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, but chose instead to play in the

with the

, for whom he played for seven seasons. The 1975–76 season was his best; he played 69 games and won 44 of them. In 1976–77, he helped his team win the

Avco World Trophy The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association, which operated from 1972 until 1979. The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name origin ...

. When the WHA folded following the 1978–79 season, he was protected as one of the Nordiques' priority selections, then was traded to the Islanders for Göran Högosta. However, he only played two games for them as he was the third goalie behind Billy Smith and Chico Resch, and was traded to the

in 1980. In his second season with the Canucks, he guided the team during their playoff run to the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, which they lost to Brodeur's old team, the Islanders. Brodeur was selected to play in the 1983 All-Star Game, but couldn't play due to an ear injury suffered in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

three days earlier. He remained with the Canucks for almost eight seasons, then was traded near the end of the

1987–88 NHL season The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanl ...

to the

, where he ended his NHL career. He was the last active NHL player from the WHA's inaugural season, and the last to have played in all seven seasons of the WHA's existence. After his retirement, he founded his own hockey school in the Vancouver area. He also briefly worked as an analyst on

French TV telecasts. He has been noted as the goaltender on whom

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

scored the most goals, with 29.

Awards

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the Cornwall Royals. ...

, MVP Memorial Cup (Cornwall Royals) 1972 (Inaugural Winner). * Terry Sawchuk Trophy (CHL) - 1979-1980 * Named to the NHL All-Star Game - 1983 * Cyclone Taylor Award (Vancouver Canucks) - 1981, 1982, 1985 *

Molson Cup The Molson Cup is an award presented to a distinguished player on Canadian ice hockey teams. After each game, the " three game stars" are selected, usually by a member of the media. At the end of the season, the player with the most three-star h ...

(Most Canucks three-star selections) - 1980–81, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86 * World Hockey Association Hall of Fame - 2010 - Inaugural Inductee

Personal life

Brodeur is an artist, using oil on canvas, and has had several shows at Diskin Galleries in Vancouver.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodeur, Richard 1952 births Living people Binghamton Whalers players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) players Fredericton Express players Hartford Whalers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from Montreal Indianapolis Checkers (CHL) players Maine Nordiques players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Ice hockey people from Longueuil Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Vancouver Canucks players Verdun Maple Leafs (ice hockey) players