Gus Giesebrecht
Gus Giesebrecht | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada | September 14, 1917||
Died |
December 27, 2006 Pembroke, Ontario, Canada | (aged 89)||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 177 lb (80 kg; 12 st 9 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
Playing career | 1937–1942 |
Roy George "Gus" Giesebrecht (September 14, 1917 – December 27, 2006) was a professional
Despite his early promise,
Playing career
Giesebrecht's junior career began at the age of 16 with the Ottawa St. Malachy's of the Ottawa City Junior Hockey League (OCJHL), with whom he played for the 1933–34 season, skating in 15 games and scoring 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points. The following season, he divided his times between the OCJHL's Ottawa Senators, the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the Ontario Valley Junior Hockey League (OVJHL) and the Pembroke Falcons of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA). Giesebrecht spent the 1935–36 season back with the OVJHL's Pembroke Lumber Kings.
Giesebrecht broke into the amateur leagues with the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. He skated with the Yellow Jackets for the 1936–37 season, scoring 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 47 games. He began the 1937–38 season with the Detroit Pontiacs of the Michigan Ontario Hockey League, with whom he led the league in scoring prior to turning pro.[4]
Near the end of the 1937–38 season, Giesebrecht began his professional career with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL).[4] He returned to the Hornets (then the farm team for the Detroit Red Wings) for the start of the 1938–39 season.[5] By December 1938 Giesebrecht was being called up to play for the Red Wings.[6] Placed on a line with Hall of Famer Syd Howe, Giesebrecht distinguished himself as a rookie centre for the Red Wings in February 1939 when he scored three goals in the first period in a 7–3 victory over the New York Americans.[2]
Giesebrecht began the 1939–40 season with the Red Wings, but found himself sent down to their farm team—the IAHL's Indianapolis Capitals—after scoring only 4 goals and 7 assists in 30 games.[7] He tallied 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points in 21 games during regular season play with the Capitals and skated in 5 playoff games, scoring 4 goals and 1 assist. Giesebrecht returned to the Red Wings for the 1940–41 season, scoring 7 goals and 18 assists in 43 games, including the opening goal in a 2–1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks on "Jack Adams Night", a tribute to long-time Red Wings manager Jack Adams.[8] He faced the Black Hawks again in the Stanley Cup semi-final round, scoring the game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime that eliminated the Black Hawks and sent the Red Wings to the finals.[3] They were ultimately defeated by the Boston Bruins in four straight games.
The 1941–42 season again found Giesebrecht splitting his time between the Red Wings and their farm team Indianapolis Capitals (in the newly renamed American Hockey League). He spent the majority of the season in Detroit, netting 6 goals and 16 assists in 34 games, and seeing a 2-game call-up for the Stanley Cup finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[9] Giesebrecht found the championship that had eluded him his entire professional career, however, with the Capitals, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in 10 games to defeat the Hershey Bears and win the Calder Cup.
Giesebrecht's professional career came to an untimely end in 1942 when he volunteered for the
Career statistics
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1933–34 | Ottawa St. Malachy's | OCJHL | 15 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1934–35 | Ottawa Senators | OCJHL | 5 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1934–35 | Pembroke Lumber Kings | OVJHL | 5 | 7 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1934–35 | Pembroke Falcons | NOHA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
1935–36 | Pembroke Lumber Kings | OVJHL | 8 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
1936–37 | Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets | EAHL
|
47 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1937–38 | Detroit Pontiacs | MOHL | 28 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
1937–38 | Pittsburgh Hornets | IAHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1938–39 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL
|
28 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
1938–39 | Pittsburgh Hornets | IAHL | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1939–40 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 30 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1939–40 | Indianapolis Capitals | IAHL | 21 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
1940–41 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 43 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
1941–42 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 34 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1941–42 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 15 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
NHL totals | 135 | 27 | 51 | 78 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
References
- ^ a b c McRae, Earl (November 10, 2006). "War ended NHL career". Ottawa Sun. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Americans beaten by Red Wings, 7–3". The New York Times. February 6, 1939. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ a b Associated Press (March 31, 1941). "Red Wings Advance to Stanley Cup Finals by Defeating Chicago in Overtime". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "Pittsburgh ice team in quest of first title". The Daily Times (Rochester and Beaver, Pennsylvania). March 30, 1938. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Burcky, Claire (October 23, 1938). "Hornets Face Bruin Icers On Saturday". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "Hornets Play At Hershey". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 29, 1938. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- The Windsor Daily Star. March 8, 1940. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- The Windsor Daily Star. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- The Montreal Gazette. April 15, 1942. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database