Flash Hollett | |||
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Born |
North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada |
April 13, 1911||
Died | April 20, 1999 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
(aged 88)||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
Syracuse Stars (IHL) Buffalo Bisons (IHL) Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) Ottawa Senators (NHL) Boston Bruin Cubs (CAHL) Boston Bruins (NHL) Detroit Red Wings (NHL) |
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Playing career | 1932–1946 |
Frank William "Bill, Flash" Hollett (April 13, 1911 – April 20, 1999) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings.
Hollett was first noticed by Maple Leafs' owner Conn Smythe as he was playing lacrosse with then-Leafs captain Lionel Conacher. He apprenticed in the minor leagues before being loaned to the Senators for the 1933–34 NHL season. After that - which was the original Senators' final season in Ottawa - Bill 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 defenceman on the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship teams of 1939 and 1941. In 1942, 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, 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.