Corey Hirsch (born July 1, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

, currently working for Sportsnet as a colour commentator on Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts. He spent the majority of his

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 ...

career with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. He is the former goaltending coach for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

, having previously served the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

along with Francois Allaire. Hirsch is tied with

Tyson Sexsmith Tyson Sexsmith (born March 19, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Sexsmith was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 3rd round (91st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. During his major junior career with the Vanco ...

for most wins in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

's history, with 120.

Playing career

Born in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Hirsch played

major junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers o ...

of the

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 The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...

) and advanced to the

1990 Memorial Cup The 1990 Memorial Cup occurred May 5–13 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the 72nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, where the Blazers placed third. Hirsch was subsequently chosen 169th overall in the

1991 NHL Entry Draft The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...

by the

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 ...

. 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 The CHL Goaltender of the Year Award is given out annually to the top goaltender in the Canadian Hockey League. It is chosen from the winners of the league awards; the OHL Goaltender of the Year, the Del Wilson Trophy ( WHL), and the Jacques Pl ...

and the

Del Wilson Trophy The Del Wilson Trophy is presented annually to the Western Hockey League's goaltender judged to be the best at his position. The award is named after Del Wilson for his many years of service to both the Regina Pats and the League. Wilson was an own ...

as the WHL Goaltender of the Year. As the Blazers again captured President's Cup in 1992, they advanced to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5–4 in the final. Hirsch was additionally awarded the

Hap Emms Memorial Trophy The Hap Emms Memorial Trophy is awarded to the outstanding goaltender at the Memorial Cup of the Canadian Hockey League. The award is named after Leighton "Hap" Emms, a former NHL player, who had a 33 year presence in the Ontario Hockey Associ ...

as the tournament's top goaltender. In

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, his first professional season, he played for the

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously served by: : Broome Dusters of the NAHL (1973 ...

, New York's AHL affiliate, and won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the league's top goalie. 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 The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

on January 23. At the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Lillehammer, Norway Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Hirsch played all eight games for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and won a silver medal after losing in a shootout to Sweden in the gold medal game. The shootout-winning goal by

Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...

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

on April 7, 1995, in exchange for forward

Nathan LaFayette Nathan LaFayette (born February 17, 1973) is a former ice hockey player in the National Hockey League, NHL. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 3rd round (65th overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the St. Louis Blues, Vanco ...

. Hirsch split goaltending duties with

Kirk McLean Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Ran ...

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 The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

voting (won by

Daniel Alfredsson Daniel Alfredsson (; born 11 December 1972) is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily with the Ottawa Senators. He also briefly played for the Detroit Red Win ...

). During the season, he recorded his first career NHL shutout on January 15, 1996, a 6–0 win against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. On July 2, 1999, he was waived by the Canucks and for the next few seasons, would bounce around the league between the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

, and

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

. 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 The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

. 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. On September 9, 2008, the

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

announced they had hired Hirsch as their goaltending coach. On May 7, 2014, the St. Louis Blues relieved Hirsch of his coaching duties. In 2015, Hirsch joined the ''

NHL on Sportsnet ''NHL on Sportsnet'' is the blanket title for presentations of the National Hockey League broadcast held by a Canadian media corporation, Rogers Communications, showing on its television channel Sportsnet and other networks owned by or affili ...

'' as a freelance TV analyst.

Personal

Hirsch is a divorcee after 15 years of marriage, with three children. 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. Hirsch has struggled with severe

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

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. He has since become an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness and ending the stigma associated with mental illness.

Awards

Major Junior * WHL West Second All-Star Team –

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

*WHL West First All-Star Team – 1991 & 1992 *

– 1992 * CHL First All-Star Team – 1992 *

(WHL goaltender of the year) – 1992 *

(

top goaltender) – 1992 *Memorial Cup All-Star Team – 1992 Professional * Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award ( AHL goaltender of the year) –

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

* 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 The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

– 1996 * IHL Goaltender of the Month – December 1999 *IHL Goaltender of the Week – December 4, December 18, 2000

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Corey 1972 births Albany River Rats players Binghamton Rangers players Calgary Canucks players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Dallas Stars players Ice hockey people from Alberta Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Kamloops Blazers players Kassel Huskies players Living people Malmö Redhawks players Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Memorial Cup winners New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Medicine Hat Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players St. Louis Blues coaches Syracuse Crunch players Timrå IK players Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Vancouver Canucks players Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Canadian ice hockey coaches