BRETT HULL TURNS FORTY-FIVE TODAY

On behalf of all my friends, readers and visitors I would like to congratulate Brett Hull, who was inducted to the NHL Hall of Fame this year, all his family and his dad in particular.


SUCH PHOTO IS EVERY HOCKEY DAD's DREAM (EVEN IF YOUR NAME IS BOBBY HULL)

by HAll of Fame:
As the son of the "Golden Jet" Bobby Hull, the younger Hull came into the game with the pressure that having a famous name can bring, pressure that he shrugged off easily. After his 1,000th point, Brett and Bobby became the only father and son combo in NHL history to each score 1,000 points and now both will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But this was not the first time the younger Hull hit a scoring milestone. As a St. Louis Blues player nine years earlier, he scored 50 goals in 49 games. He became just the fifth player in NHL history to do the 50/50, tying as third fastest ever. This achievement put Hull in an elite group of superstar players alongside Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.
Despite his father's impressive career, Brett was not always seen as being destined for hockey stardom. He began playing junior hockey in Penticton, in the BCJHL. This was only a Tier II junior team, one level below major junior hockey. In those days, Hull weighed 220 pounds and was nicknamed Pickle. Despite his size, he scored 105 goals in 56 games and won a scholarship to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

In 1984 the Calgary Flames drafted Hull 117th overall after just two years in college, and he spent the next couple of seasons splitting his playing time between Calgary and their minor league team in Moncton. In Moncton, Hull finished third in league scoring and was name the IHL's Rookie-of-the-Year.
In 1988 the Flames traded Hull to St. Louis. In his first season, he scored 41 goals and captured the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. 1990-91 marked the first Hull's three consecutive 70-plus goal seasons, which included a career high 86 goals in 1990-91 which earned him the Lester B. Pearson Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.


BRETT HULL SCORES HIS CONTROVERSIAL GOAL ENDING THE GAME 6 TRIPLE OT OF 1999 PLAYOFFS FINALS

After eleven seasons in St. Louis, Hull signed with the Dallas Stars in the summer of 1998. He had said he wanted to play for the Chicago Blackhawks, his father's team, but the Stars made him an offer he just could not pass up. Despite the big contract, the move to the Stars took some pressure off Hull. A perennially strong team, the Stars had never played quite as well on the ice as their name suggested. When Hull joined their ranks, they went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1999, with Hull scoring the winning goal in triple overtime.

Long-time Flyers' goalie Ron Hextall once summed up the opposition's take on Hull: "When he comes in on the wing, he's got an awful lot of speed. If you give him a hole, he hits it." And for his part, Hull has always had a pretty clear idea of what he has been paid to do. Possessed of a mean slapshot and a solid frame, Hull has had a decided knack for finding the back of the net throughout his career.

Early in the 99-2000 season, Hull scored his 600th goal, thus ensuring he and father Bobby were the first and only father-son combination to reach that remarkable plateau. After three seasons in Dallas, Hull signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings prior to 2001-02 season and went on to capture his second Stanley Cup later that spring.


BRETT HULL. DALLAS STARS GENERAL MANAGER

Hull surpassed the 700-goal mark and 1,300-point mark in 2002-03 and shows no signs of slowing down. After three seasons in Detroit, Hull went on to sign as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes in the summer of 2004 and following a lock out year in 2004-05, would play a mere five games with the club before announcing his retirement from the game.

On the international stage Hull has represented the United States at the Winter Olympics (1998 and 2002), the 1996 World Cup, the 1991 Canada Cup and the 1986 World Championships.

In his illustrious NHL career, Brett Hull scored 741 goals, 650 assists and 1,391 points.