Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes between 1986 and 2005. His career total of 741 goals is fifth highest in NHL history, and he is one of five players to score 50 goals in 50 games. He was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams — 1999 with the Dallas Stars and 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. In 2017, Hull was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
Known as one of the game's greatest snipers, Hull was an elite scorer at all levels of the game. He played college hockey for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where he scored 52 goals in 1985–86. He scored 50 the following year with the Moncton Golden Flames of the American Hockey League (AHL) and had five consecutive NHL seasons of at least 50 goals. His 86 goals in 1990–91 is the third-highest single-season total in NHL history, with the first two being the same person, Wayne Gretzky. Hull won the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award that year as the league's most valuable player. He was named a first team all-star on three occasions and played in eight NHL All-Star Games.
Having dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, (after being cut from Team Canada) Hull was eligible to play for the United States internationally and chose to join the American National Team. He was a member of the team that won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and was a two-time Olympian, winning a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, joining his father Bobby Hull. They are the first father-son combination to each score either of 600 goals or 1,000 career points in the NHL. Hull's nickname, "the Golden Brett" is a reference to his father's nickname of "the Golden Jet". His jersey number 16 was retired by the St. Louis Blues in 2006.
Early life
Hull was born August 9, 1964, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. His father, Bobby, was a long-time professional hockey player in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA). His mother, Joanne (McKay), was an American professional figure skater and taught him how to skate. He has three brothers, Bobby Jr., Blake, and Bart, and a younger sister, Michelle. Bart played professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL). His uncle Dennis was also a longtime NHL player.
As his father played for the NHL's Chicago Black Hawks, Hull spent his early life in Illinois, and he first played organized hockey in the Chicago area at age four. He moved to Vancouver with his mother and two youngest siblings shortly before his parents' acrimonious divorce in 1979. Hull was not close to his father following the breakup, though the two spoke periodically. NHL teams finally took notice of Hull following his 1983–84 season in which he scored 105 goals in 56 games and broke the BCJHL scoring record with 188 points. He was awarded the Jerry Chumola Award as the school's rookie of the year and received similar honors from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Hull was named the WCHA first-team all-star at right wing and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school retired his jersey number 29 in 2006.
Calgary Flames (1986–1988)
thumb|1987 card of Hull for Calgary Flames
Choosing to turn professional following his sophomore season, Hull signed a contract with the Calgary Flames and joined the team during the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He made his NHL debut on May 20, 1986, in game three of the Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens. His best scoring opportunity came when he hit the post in his first shift of the game. He appeared in two games of the Flames' five-game series loss to Montreal.
Hull earned a spot on the Flames for the 1987–88 season, though the team continued to work with him on his conditioning.
St. Louis Blues (1988–1998)
thumb|Hull during his time with the Blues in 1993