Robert Glenn Froese (born June 30, 1958) is a Canadian former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
who played eight seasons in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) for the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
and
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
.
Early life
Froese was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He was the middle child to Frank and Agnes Froese with sisters Dorothy (elder) and Patti (younger).
Playing career
Junior and minor leagues
At 16 Froese made his
Ontario Major Junior Hockey League
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...
debut for his hometown
St. Catharines Blackhawks, having been protected as a homegrown player instead of entering the OMJHL draft. His rookie campaign he played in 15 games. Bob played all four of his junior years for the
Emms family, moving across the Niagara Region to the
Niagara Falls Flyers
The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982.
...
for the latter two. Following the 1977–78 season, Froese was drafted by the
St Louis Blues in the 10th round, 160th overall.
Due to the Blue's financial woes, Froese was not offered a contract out of junior, but instead signed for the
Saginaw Gears of the
International Hockey League. Halfway through his rookie IHL campaign, Froese was loaned to the
Milwaukee Admirals
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...
, where he led them to a playoff berth. Froese played a total of three seasons in Saginaw, culminating with the 1980–81 Turner Cup.
1981–82 saw Froese sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, who placed him with the
Maine Mariners. Froese played 33
AHL games for the Mariners in each of the 1981–82 and 1982–83 seasons. His call-up to the NHL came after
Pelle Lindbergh
Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (; May 24, 1959 – November 11, 1985) was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goa ...
injured his wrist in an exhibition game against a travelling Soviet exhibition team.
Philadelphia Flyers
Froese made his NHL debut on January 8, 1983, against the Hartford Whalers. The Flyers won 7–4. Froese went on to win his first 8 NHL starts and go undefeated for his first 13, compiling a 12–0–1 record along the way. These were both records for a rookie goaltender at the time. His first NHL shutout came in his third game against the New York Rangers.
The 1983–84 season saw Froese lead the Flyers in games played. 1984–85 saw injuries limit Froese to 17 NHL games along with 4 AHL games for the Hershey Bears. In the 1984–85 playoffs, Froese made 1 start and came in 3 times in relief as the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup finals.
After
Pelle Lindbergh
Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (; May 24, 1959 – November 11, 1985) was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goa ...
died early in the 1985–86 season, Froese became the Flyers' starting goalie. Froese was selected as the Wales Conference backup goaltender for the
1986 All-Star Game, leading the Wales Conference to an overtime victory. At the close of this season he shared the
William M. Jennings Trophy
The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." From 1946 until ...
(for backstopping the team that gave up the fewest goals) with
Darren Jensen. Froese also came second in Vezina Trophy voting to
John Vanbiesbrouck by only two votes. During this season he led the NHL in save % (.909), shutouts (5), wins (31) and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.
1986–87 saw Froese lose the starting job for the Flyers to
Ron Hextall
Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hextall played 13 seasons for ...
. After appearing in only 3 games for the Flyers that season, he was traded to the New York Rangers on December 19, 1986, for
Kjell Samuelsson
Kjell William Alf Samuelsson (born 18 October 1958) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Ba ...
and a second-round draft pick.
New York Rangers
Following his trade to the Rangers, Froese became half of one of the best tandems in the NHL along with the man he lost the Vezina Trophy to the year before,
John Vanbiesbrouck. Appearing in only 28 games that season for the Rangers, he set the team record for most penalty minutes in a season, with 56. Following the season and the Rangers' early exit from the playoffs, Froese went to the
IIHF World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
in Vienna, Austria, where he shut out the Soviet Union during a 0–0 tie.
On November 29, 1987,
Froese briefly became the second NHL goalie to score a goal in a game. An errant pass by the
New York Islanders'
Brent Sutter
Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Sut ...
slid the length of the ice and into the Islanders' empty net on a delayed penalty call. Froese, who had appeared to make a save seconds earlier, was given credit for the goal. Later reviews showed that the shot had actually hit the post and not Froese, so the goal was given to
David Shaw.
''The New York Times'', December 5, 1987, accessed April 14, 2011.
Altogether, he played for a total of eight seasons, appearing in 242 games and winning 128.
Coaching career
Following his career, Froese joined the New York Rangers coaching staff as their goaltending consultant, working primarily with young prospects Mike Richter and Corey Hirsch
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. He spent the majority of his National Hockey Leag ...
. Following two years on the Rangers staff, he joined the New York Islanders in the same role. After three years on the Islanders staff, Froese stepped away from hockey to pursue ministry full-time.
Personal life
Froese is married to his high school sweetheart Ruth.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froese, Bob
1958 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Canadian people of German descent
Hershey Bears players
Ice hockey people from St. Catharines
Maine Mariners players
Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players
National Hockey League All-Stars
New York Rangers players
Niagara Falls Flyers players
Oshawa Generals players
Philadelphia Flyers players
Saginaw Gears players
St. Catharines Black Hawks players
St. Louis Blues draft picks
William M. Jennings Trophy winners