Frank William “Flash” Hollett, the North Sydney-born NHL defenceman who set an early scoring mark, has been inducted into the Cape Breton Sport Hall of Fame.
Frank William “Flash” Hollett, the North Sydney-born defenceman whose scoring from the blue line helped reshape expectations for NHL rearguards, has been inducted into the Cape Breton Sport Hall of Fame.
Hollett, who died in 1999 at age 88, was honoured Saturday as one of two athletes entering the hall. The recognition comes about 80 years after his final NHL season and renews attention on a Cape Breton connection that even some hockey followers had overlooked.
Carol Miller, chair of the hall of fame, said Hollett’s local roots were not widely known because his family left Nova Scotia when he was very young. “A lot of people here didn’t realize that Flash was … even from Nova Scotia, much less Cape Breton,” Miller said in an interview cited by CBC. “And so even I, growing up in Ontario, thought he came from Ontario.”
Hollett played in the NHL from 1933 to 1946 with four clubs and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1939 and 1941. Known for his speed and attacking style, he became the first NHL defenceman to score 20 goals in a season when he reached the mark with the Detroit Red Wings in 1944-45. That record remained a standard for defencemen until Bobby Orr surpassed it in 1968-69.
His career path began after Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe took notice of him through lacrosse, according to historical reporting cited by CBC. Hollett made his NHL debut with Toronto in 1933-34, later played for Ottawa, returned to the Leafs and was eventually dealt to Boston during the 1935-36 season.
In Boston, Hollett scored in each of the Bruins’ Cup-clinching wins and posted consecutive 19-goal seasons. After a trade to Detroit, he served as Red Wings captain and finished fourth in voting for the NHL’s most valuable player award following his record-setting season.
Jon Bruhm of Halifax nominated Hollett for the Cape Breton hall after encountering his name in a Hockey News ranking of the top 100 defencemen in NHL history. “I thought I knew all the Nova Scotia NHLers,” Bruhm said. “I just thought that was really remarkable and decided to dig into his story.”
Hollett finished with 132 goals and 313 points in 565 regular-season NHL games. His Ontario-based family members were not able to attend the ceremony, but Bruhm said he was pleased to have played a role in seeing Hollett recognized by the community where his story began.
Comments (0)