Gus Giesebrecht

Gus Giesebrecht
Born (1917-09-14)September 14, 1917
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Died December 27, 2006(2006-12-27) (aged 89)
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 177 lb (80 kg; 12 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1937–1942

Roy George "Gus" Giesebrecht (September 14, 1917 – December 27, 2006) was a professional ice hockey centre who played 135 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings. During his career he accumulated 27 goals and 51 assists for a total 78 points. Giesebrecht was widely regarded by fellow players and NHL coaches as one of the most promising rookies in the league at the time.[1] He scored a hat trick in the first period of the first game he saw on-ice action with the Red Wings,[2] and scored the game-winning goal against the Chicago Black Hawks that advanced the Red Wings to the 1941 Stanley Cup Finals.[3]

Despite his early promise, World War II brought Giesebrecht's professional hockey career to an end. He chose to leave the Red Wings, volunteering for the Canadian Army. He was deployed to the European theatre as a corporal in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division and saw action in France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Giesebrecht opted not to return to professional hockey at the conclusion of the war, deciding instead to return to his hometown of Petawawa, Ontario, where he ran his family's business until his death in 2006.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference war was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference hat trick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference finals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).