Although goalie Denis Brodeur has spent nearly his entire life involved with Canadian ice hockey, his time as a player is probably the least notable aspect of his career. A Montreal, Quebec native, he shifted teams on an almost yearly basis as a senior-level goaltender, suiting up with the Saint John Beavers of the Maritime Senior Hockey Leauge (1950-1951), the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Hockey League (1952-1954), the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the Ontario Senior Hockey League (1954-1956), the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League (1957-1958), and finally the Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League (1958-1959). With the Dutchmen he won the 1955 Allan Cup, given annually in Canada to the top men’s ice hockey team, and earned the right to represent Canada at the 1956 Winter Olympics. At the tournament he minded the net for four matches and took home a bronze medal. He played in an era before goalie masks and, by the end of his playing days, he had collected a total of 118 stitches to his face and skull.
After hanging up his skates Brodeur became a professional photographer and spent many years as the official photographer for the Montreal Canadiens. In 1996 he published “Goalies - Guardians of the Net”, a collection of over 500 black and white and color photographs of famous goaltenders. When he sold his collection to the National Hockey League in 2006, it contained over 110,000 images from the past four decades. His son Martin became a goalie in the NHL, as well as an Olympic gold medal winner, and was one of the most decorated net minders in hockey history.
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