Bill Durnan

Bill Durnan
Hockey Hall of Fame , 1964
Date of birth	January 22, 1916
place of birth	Toronto , Ontario , Canada
date of death	October 31, 1972
size	183 cm
Weight	86 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Right
Career stations
1931-1932	North Toronto Juniors
1932-1933	Sudbury Wolves
1933-1934	Toronto British Consols
1934-1935	Toronto McColl-Frontenacs
1935-1936	Toronto Dominion Bank
1936-1940	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils
1940-1943	Montreal Royals
1943-1950	Montréal Canadiens
1950-1951	Ottawa Senators

William Ronald "Bill" Durnan (born January 22, 1916 in Toronto , Ontario , † October 31, 1972 ) was a Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who played from 1943 to 1950 for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League .

Career

As a teenager, Bill Durnan was one of the best pitchers in baseball in the country, but also a good goalkeeper. He managed to survive an entire season as a youth goalkeeper without conceding a goal. It seemed a done deal that he would sign a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs when he seriously injured his knee while wrestling with a friend shortly before his 20th birthday. The Leafs didn't think he could ever play again, so it was 8 years before he made his debut in the NHL. His way of playing was different from any other goalkeeper. Durnan did not wear a glove and a blocker for the stick hand as usual, but he had 2 special gloves with which he could also hold the stick. At a young age he had learned a trick that he could use to switch the stick from one hand to the other in a flash. With this way of playing he was the sensation with the Montréal Canadiens and was able to win the Vezina Trophy in each of his first 4 years . He was instrumental in the Stanley Cup victories in 1944 and 1946. Bill was the last goalkeeper in the NHL for the following 60 years, who was also team captain. His frequent trips to discuss with the umpires led the NHL to prohibit goalkeepers from becoming team captains. He managed to survive four consecutive games for a total of 309: 21 minutes without conceding a goal. After him, Brian Boucher only managed to keep his goal clean for a longer period of time in the 2003/04 season . In the 1950 playoffs, he suffered a deep cut on the face from an opposing skate and ended his career at the age of 35.

After his active career, he worked in sales for a brewery.

In 1964 he was honored with the induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutouts
Regular season	7th	383	0.543	2.36	34
Playoffs	6th	45	0.600	2.07	2

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1944 and 1946

Personal awards

• First All-Star Team : 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1950
• Vezina Trophy : 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1950

Web links

• Bill Durnan in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Bill Durnan at hockeydb.com (English)
• Bill Durnan at hockeygoalies.org