Gary David Kurt (born March 9, 1947, in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

) is a retired 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 ...

Playing career

Kurt played

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 ...

for the Ontario Hockey Association's

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

, at the time owned 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 ...

. Later he played two seasons for the Rangers' affiliate in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

, the

Omaha Knights The Omaha Knights was the name of three minor league professional ice hockey teams from 1959 to 1965 and from 1966 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the International Hoc ...

. After the 1968–69 season he was acquired by the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. After another two seasons in the AHL he broke into the

NHL 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 ...

with the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

, who acquired his rights from the Barons prior to the 1971–72 NHL season. He spent the first half of the season playing for the Golden Seals' affiliate Baltimore Clippers, but was called up to the Seals in January 1972 to replace

Lyle Carter Lyle Dwight Carter (born April 29, 1945) is a former professional hockey goalie, who played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the California Golden Seals during the 1971–72 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1967 to 19 ...

Gilles Meloche Gilles Emile Meloche (born July 12, 1950) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, scout and former player. Meloche played as a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Ba ...

's back-up. In February he was chosen by the new

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

's New York Raiders in their player draft. After completing his season with California he defected to the new league. Kurt spent the following two seasons with the Raiders/Golden Blades/Jersey Knights franchise, backing-up Pete Donnelly and Joe Junkin, playing alongside former Seals Brian Perry, Bobby Sheehan,

Kent Douglas ''For the American actor sometimes known as Kent Douglass see Douglass Montgomery.'' Kent Gemmell Douglas (February 6, 1936 – April 12, 2009) was a professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. Playing career Early career Douglas started his ca ...

, Mike Laughton and Norm Ferguson. He was chosen by the Phoenix Roadrunners in the 1974 WHA Expansion Draft, and finally given the chance to be starting goaltender for a major professional team. His first season with the Roadrunners was his most successful professional one, winning 25 games and leading the Roadrunners to a playoff berth, but they were quickly dismissed by the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

. The following season he shared goaltending duties with Jack Norris, and by 1976 he was once again relegated to being a back-up. At the end of the season he retired.

Awards

* 1971 AHL First All-Star Team * 1971 Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award * 1974 NAHL First All-Star Team

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurt, Gary 1947 births Living people Baltimore Clippers players California Golden Seals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Jersey Knights players Kitchener Rangers players New York Golden Blades players New York Raiders players Oklahoma City Blazers (1965–1977) players Omaha Knights (CHL) players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA) players Ice hockey people from Kitchener, Ontario