Corey Hirsch

Corey Hirsch
Hirsch in 2021
Born	(1972-07-01) July 1, 1972 (age 51) Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position	Goalie
Caught	Left
Played for	New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks Washington Capitals Dallas Stars
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	169th overall, 1991 New York Rangers
Playing career	1992–2006

Olympic medal record
Representing   Canada
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
	1994 Lillehammer	Ice Hockey
World Championships
	1995 Sweden	Ice hockey

Corey Hirsch (born July 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, currently working for Sportsnet as a colour commentator on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts. ^[1] He spent the majority of his National Hockey League career with the Vancouver Canucks. He is the former goaltending coach for the St. Louis Blues, having previously served the Toronto Maple Leafs along with François Allaire.

Hirsch is tied with Tyson Sexsmith for most wins in the Western Hockey League's history, with 120.

Playing career

Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Hirsch played major junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League for four seasons. He was named to the WHL Second All-Star Team in his second season with Kamloops, in which the team won the President's Cup (now the Ed Chynoweth Cup) and advanced to the 1990 Memorial Cup in Hamilton, Ontario, where the Blazers placed third. Hirsch was subsequently chosen 169th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.

Upon being drafted, Hirsch led the league in shutouts, with 5, and goals against average with 2.72 in 1991–92, he was named CHL Goaltender of the Year and the Del Wilson Trophy as the WHL Goaltender of the Year. As the Blazers again captured President's Cup in 1992, they advanced to the Memorial Cup in Seattle and defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5–4 in the final. Hirsch was additionally awarded the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the tournament's top goaltender.

In 1992–93, his first professional season, he played for the Binghamton Rangers, New York's AHL affiliate, and won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the league's top goalie. ^[2] At 2.79, he was also awarded the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for the lowest goals-against-average (shared with goaltending teammate Boris Rousson).

Hirsch started his first NHL game that season, a 2–2 tie against the Detroit Red Wings on January 19, 1993. He recorded his first win on his next start, an 8–3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on January 23. ^[3]

At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, Hirsch played all eight games for Canada and won a silver medal after losing in a shootout to Sweden in the gold medal game. The shootout-winning goal by Peter Forsberg was depicted on a Swedish postage stamp, featuring the image of a generic goalie because Hirsch refused to allow his likeness to be used.

Hirsch remained with Binghamton for three seasons until New York traded him to the Vancouver Canucks on April 7, 1995, in exchange for forward Nathan LaFayette. ^[3]

Hirsch split goaltending duties with Kirk McLean in 1995–96 and was named to the All-Rookie Team after posting a 2.93 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and a winning 17–14–6 record. He also finished fifth in Calder Memorial Trophy voting (won by Daniel Alfredsson). During the season, he recorded his first career NHL shutout on January 15, 1996, a 6–0 win against the Boston Bruins. ^[3]

On July 2, 1999, he was waived by the Canucks ^[3] and for the next few seasons, would bounce around the league between the Nashville Predators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Washington Capitals, and Dallas Stars. Playing for minor league affiliates, he only appeared in a handful of NHL games for the remainder of his career. In 2002–03, he recorded AHL career highs with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in 35 games with the Utah Grizzlies.

Before retiring, Hirsch played three seasons overseas in the Swedish Elitserien, and the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Post-playing career

After retiring, Hirsch became a goaltending consultant for Hockey Canada. He worked with the national junior team as part of the 2007 and 2008 World Junior gold medal winning teams. ^[4]

On September 9, 2008, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they had hired Hirsch as their goaltending coach. ^[4]

On June 18, 2010, the St. Louis Blues announced they had hired Hirsch as their goaltending coach.

On May 7, 2014, the St. Louis Blues relieved Hirsch of his coaching duties. ^[5]

In 2015, Hirsch joined the NHL on Sportsnet as a freelance TV analyst. ^[6]

Personal

Hirsch is a divorcee after 15 years of marriage, with three children. ^[6] In the summer of 2015, Hirsch's son Hayden, who is a forward, attended hockey training camp with his father's old junior team, the Kamloops Blazers, but didn't make the regular season roster. ^[7] Hirsch has struggled with severe anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) for much of his life, and described his struggle in a Player's Tribune article on February 15, 2017 and a video for the Canucks' Hockey Talks initiative. ^[8] He has since become an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness and ending the stigma associated with mental illness. He elaborated further about his mental health challenges in his autobiography, "The Save of My Life: My Journey Out of the Dark", which was written in collaboration with Sean Patrick Conboy and published in 2022. Hirsch also co-hosts a podcast with psychiatrist Dr. Diane McIntosh called "Blindsided", featuring athletes talking about mental health. ^[9]

Awards

Major Junior

• WHL West Second All-Star Team – 1990
• WHL West First All-Star Team – 1991 & 1992
• CHL Goaltender of the Year – 1992
• CHL First All-Star Team – 1992
• Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (WHL goaltender of the year) – 1992
• Del Wilson Trophy (Memorial Cup top goaltender) – 1992
• Memorial Cup All-Star Team – 1992

Professional

• Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (AHL goaltender of the year) – 1993
• Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (AHL's lowest goals-against-average) – 1993 (shared with Boris Rousson)
• Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award – 1993
• AHL First All-Star Team – 1993
• NHL All-Rookie Team – 1996
• IHL Goaltender of the Month – December 1999
• IHL Goaltender of the Week – December 4, December 18, 2000

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1987–88	Calgary Canucks	AJHL		32	22	5	0	1538	91	1	3.55	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		32	11	12	2	1516	106	2	4.20	—		5	3	2	245	19	0	4.65	—
1989–90	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		63	48	13	0	3608	230	3	3.82	—		17	14	3	1043	60	0	3.45	—
1989–90	Kamloops Blazers	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		3	0	3	191	18	0	5.65	—
1990–91	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		38	26	7	1	1970	100	3	3.05	—		11	5	6	623	42	0	4.04	—
1991–92	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		48	35	10	2	2732	124	5	2.72	—		16	11	5	954	35	2	2.20	—
1991–92	Kamloops Blazers	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		5	4	1	300	13	1	2.60	—
1992–93	New York Rangers	NHL		4	1	2	1	224	14	0	3.75	.879		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		46	35	4	5	2692	125	1	2.79	—		14	7	7	831	46	0	3.32	—
1993–94	Canada	Intl.		45	24	17	3	2653	124	0	2.80	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		10	5	4	1	610	38	0	3.74	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Binghamton Rangers	AHL		57	31	20	5	3371	175	0	3.11	.894		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		41	17	14	6	2338	114	1	2.93	.903		6	2	3	338	21	0	3.73	.873
1996–97	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		39	12	20	4	2127	116	2	3.27	.894		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		1	0	0	0	50	5	0	6.00	.853		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		60	30	22	6	3512	187	1	3.19	.902		5	2	3	297	10	1	2.02	—
1998–99	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		20	3	8	3	919	48	1	3.13	.890		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		5	2	3	0	300	14	0	2.80	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		19	9	8	1	1098	49	0	2.68	.891		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		17	9	5	1	937	42	3	2.69	.914		2	0	2	121	4	0	1.98	—
2000–01	Albany River Rats	AHL		4	0	4	0	199	19	0	5.73	.862		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Washington Capitals	NHL		1	1	0	0	20	0	0	0.00	1.000		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Cincinnati Cyclones	IHL		13	11	2	0	783	28	1	2.15	.935		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Portland Pirates	AHL		36	17	17	2	2142	104	1	2.91	.912		2	0	2	118	7	0	3.56	.915
2001–02	Portland Pirates	AHL		23	6	12	5	1395	62	1	2.67	.920		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		5	2	3	0	299	14	1	2.81	.883		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Dallas Stars	NHL		2	0	1	0	97	4	0	2.47	.897		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Utah Grizzlies	AHL		35	14	16	2	1953	86	0	2.64	.921		1	0	1	60	5	0	5.00	.904
2003–04	Timrå IK	SEL		5	2	3	0	312	11	1	1.73	.932		7	3	3	364	11	0	1.81	.934
2004–05	Kassel Huskies	DEL		12	—	—	—	695	31	0	2.68	.920		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				281	142	105	26	16,473	824	5	3.00	—		22	9	13	1306	68	1	3.12	—
NHL totals				108	34	45	14	5775	301	4	3.13	.896		6	2	3	338	21	0	3.73	.873
IHL totals				49	29	15	2	2818	119	4	2.53	.913		2	0	2	121	4	0	1.98	—

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1994	Canada	OG		8	5	2	1	495	18	0	2.18
1995	Canada	WC		8	4	3	1	488	21	0	2.58
Senior totals				16	9	5	2	983	39	0	2.38

References

1. Rush, Curtis (February 13, 2015). "Corey Hirsch rebounds in life thanks to a tweet". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
2. "Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (AHL)". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
3. "Corey Hirsch" . Retrieved September 22, 2008.
4. "Maple Leafs hire coaches Corey Hirsch, Graeme Townshend; two scouts". The Hockey News. September 9, 2008. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
5. "Blues Extend Hitchcock Through 2014-15: Shaw, Bennett will remain part of coaching staff; Agnew, Hirsch will not return". NHL.com. May 7, 2014.
6. "Corey Hirsch rebounds in life thanks to a tweet". The Toronto Star. February 13, 2015.
7. "Notes from Kamloops Blazers' training camp". Kamloops This Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
8. "Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark". www.theplayerstribune.com. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
9. Former NHL Goalie Corey Hirsch Embarks On ‘The Save Of His Life’ With New Book, forbes.com, 2023-04-12, retrieved 2023-06-04

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Félix Potvin	Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award 1992–93	Succeeded by Frédéric Chabot