Manitoba a hotbed of goaltending greats

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2026 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In our last Memories of Sport column, which featured Jimmy Foster, the goaltender who led Great Britain to hockey gold in the 1936 Winter Olympics, there was a comment that Manitoba had been blessed with many outstanding goalies. Charlie Gardiner, Sugar Jim Henry, Terry Sawchuk, Brandon-born Turk Broda and Ed Belfour, from Carman, were named as examples.

The Manitoba Hockey Players Foundation was formed in 1967 as an umbrella organization for hockey-oriented people such as former players, officials, coaches and fans. Over the years, the foundation has supported ex-players in need, as well as scholarships and charities. In 1985, the foundation formed the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum to preserve and promote our province’s hockey heritage. Sam Fabro was the first chairman.

On Oct. 13, 1985, the first class of inductees was named. The group included Manitobans who had been inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. The goalies were Gardiner, Broda, Sawchuk and Charlie Rayner, who played for the Kenora Thistles in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and won the NHL MVP award in 1949-50 with the New York Rangers.

Sugar Jim, who shared the Rangers net with Rayner for three seasons of his NHL career, was inducted in the initial Manitoba Hall of Fame group. Gordon Bell, Wilf Cude, and Paul Goodman were the other goalies. Bell helped the Portage Terriers win the 1942 Canadian junior championship and had a lengthy pro career, primarily in the AHL. Cude played junior for St. Vital and spent 10 years in the NHL from 1930 to 1940 with five different teams. Goodman played junior in Selkirk and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1938.

River Heights product and Winnipeg Braves junior Wayne Stephenson joined the group in 1986. He played for Canada’s national team and spent nine seasons in the NHL. Wally Bryon of the 1920 Olympic champion Winnipeg Falcons was recognized in 1987 and Bill Cockburn of the Winnipegs, who won the Olympics in 1932, joined the list in 1990. Also inducted in 1990 were Bill (Legs) Fraser and Art Rice-Jones. Fraser played junior for the Elmwood Maple Leafs and won the senior Allan Cup in 1949 with the Ottawa Senators. Rice-Jones backstopped the Elmwood Millionaires to victory in the 1931 Canadian junior championship and the Winnipeg Monarchs in the 1935 world championship.

Foster, the British Olympian, was inducted in 1992 along with Joe Daley and Ernie Wakely. In addition to his time in the NHL, Daley, from Bronx Park Community Club, won three WHA titles with the Winnipeg Jets. Wakely, from Flin Flon, played goal for the 1959 Canadian junior champion Winnipeg Braves followed by pro in the NHL and WHA from 1960-61 until 1978-79. His WHA time included two full seasons and part of a third with the Winnipeg Jets when he shared the net with Daley.

Hall of Fame goalies who developed their talents in the Brandon Wheat Kings’ net before their successful pro careers were Glen Hanlon, inducted to the Manitoba Hall in 1997, Ron Hextall (2001), and Trevor Kidd (2019). Curt Ridley (2015), who played junior for the Portage Terriers and a few games for the Wheat Kings, saw NHL time with Rangers, Toronto and Vancouver. Bill Ranford (2003) and Ken Wregget (2009) were born in Brandon. Ranford played in the NHL for five teams between 1985-86 and 1999-2000 while Wregget played for five clubs between 1983-84 and 1999-2000. He then played a final season for the Manitoba Moose of the IHL.

Ron Low (1995), from Birtle, played for the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL followed by NHL action for six different teams. Murray Bannerman, who was born in Fort Frances, Ont., played junior for the St. James Canadians, Winnipeg Clubs and Assiniboine Park Monarchs before his pro career, which included time in the NHL with Vancouver and Chicago from 1977-78 until 1987-88.

After playing junior for the Kildonan North Stars, Karl Friesen (2011) had a long career in Germany where he played for the German national team. In 1986-87, he played four games in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. A three-time Olympian, Sami Jo Small became the first female goalie in the Manitoba Hockey Hall when she was inducted in 2022.

Hal Winkler, who was born in Gretna and played for several teams in Winnipeg and the Brandon Elks beginning in 1913, reached the NHL with the New York Rangers in 1926. In the 1927-28 season, he recorded 15 shutouts in 44 games for the Boston Bruins. After he retired from hockey, he operated a mink ranch in Charleswood. His overdue HOF recognition came in 2024 as part of a special veterans induction.

Has Manitoba produced more quality goalies than any other province? The answer appears to be yes.