Athletes - Brett Hull

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	Athletes - Brett Hull

Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964 in Belleville, Ontario) is a former NHL player, and the son of legendary player Bobby Hull. Though in the earliest years of his career few saw him as a potential star, the colorful and often outspoken Hull announced his retirement on October 15, 2005 with 741 career goals, placing him third on the all-time list.

Playing career

Hull was drafted out of the Junior A British Columbia Junior Hockey League's Penticton Knights as the 117th overall pick (sixth round) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. Hull then played two years of U.S. college hockey for the University of Minnesota-Duluth before turning pro during the 1986 NHL playoffs. He spent most of the 1986-87 season with the minor league Moncton Golden Flames, being named to the AHL's First All-Star Team and winning rookie of the year honors, before being recalled to the NHL for good for the 1988 season. In March of that year, after repeatedly publicly criticizing the City of Calgary and the organization, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues, for whom he played most of his career.

While in St. Louis, Hull developed into a prolific goal scorer with linemate Adam Oates and the duo were dubbed "Hull and Oates" (a pun on the well-known musical duo of Hall & Oates). In Hull’s best season, 1990-91, he scored 86 goals, the third highest mark ever recorded in one season. That year he was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

Following the 1991-92 NHL season, the St. Louis Blues traded Adam Oates to the Boston Bruins for Craig Janney. Although talented, Janney was not to the calibre of Oates, a highly skilled passer and playmaker. Hull's production dropped off and he said he was never the same player wihout Oates.

Hull played eleven seasons for St. Louis before signing with the Dallas Stars as a free agent before the 1999 season. He helped the team capture the Stanley Cup that season, scoring the Cup-winning goal off his own rebound in the third overtime period of Game 6 of the Cup Finals against Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek. Video replay showed that Hull's foot was in the crease, which the Sabres as well as ESPN analyst Gary Thorne argued was a violation of a rule that disallowed goals if an offensive player was in the goal crease. The goal was immediately reviewed as the Stars celebrated on the ice. The NHL officials allowed the goal to stand, arguing that Brett Hull's three consecutive shots on Hasek, the third of which went in, constituted possesion of the puck through the end of the play; the rules did allow for a player to legally bring the puck into the crease and score. Partisans of one side or another debate the legality of the goal to this day, and it is arguably the most controversial Cup-winning goal in the history of Stanley Cup play. Hull and Hasek later won the Stanley Cup together as teammates in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings.

On August 6, 2004, Hull signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, who unretired his father's number for him. Bobby Hull's #9 jersey had been originally retired by the franchise on February 19, 1989, when they were the Winnipeg Jets. The first year of the contract was nullified by the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and some argue the time off damaged Hull's game irreparably; when hockey restarted in 2005-06, Hull played only 5 games with the Coyotes before, dissatisfied with his performance, he announced his retirement on October 15, 2005. Reports indicate that Hull may return to the Dallas Stars in a front-office role; he has maintained ties to the Dallas area, his family lives in the area, and he previously indicated he would retire to Dallas after his playing days were over.

The St. Louis Blues are expected to retire Brett Hull's #16 jersey, though a date has not yet been scheduled. The University of Minnesota-Duluth retired his #29 jersey there on February 3, 2006.

Family life

His nickname is the "Golden Brett", in reference to his father, the "Golden Jet"; his US-born mother Joanne divorced Bobby Hull in 1978. Hull and his ex-wife Alison have three children, Jude, Jayde, and Crosby; he was engaged to be remarried as of February 2006.

Criticism

Hull often served as a magnet for criticism in his hockey career.

In 1986, Hull made a decision that would earn him the lasting venom of Canadian hockey fans when, snubbed by Team Canada coach Dave King for a World Championships team made up of mostly NHL players, Hull elected to play for the United States (which sent a mostly-collegiate team) instead. Hull held American citizenship through his mother in addition to his Canadian citizenship by birthplace and father, but was mostly raised in Winnipeg and suburban Vancouver. As a mostly Canadian-trained player and the son of a Canadian hockey legend, fans north of the border viewed Hull as nothing less than a traitor for playing under the Stars and Stripes, particularly as his stardom grew.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Brett Hull ]

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Athletes - Brett Hull

Playing career

Family life

Criticism

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