Caught Left Height 1.91 m Position Goaltender Role Ice hockey player Career end 1977 | Name Gary Kurt Career start 1969 Playing career Weight 93 kg | |
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Born March 9, 1947 (age 77)
Kitchener, ON, CAN ( 1947-03-09 ) Played for California Golden Seals, New York Golden Blades, Phoenix Roadrunners | ||
Gary David Kurt (born March 9, 1947 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender.
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Playing career
Kurt played Junior hockey for the Ontario Hockey Association's Kitchener Rangers, at the time owned by the New York Rangers. Later he played two seasons for the Rangers' affiliate in the Central Hockey League, the Omaha Knights. After the 1968–69 season he was acquired by the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League.
After another two seasons in the AHL he broke into the NHL with the California Golden Seals, 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 as Gilles Meloche's back-up. In February he was chosen by the new World Hockey Association'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 franchise, backing-up Pete Donnelly and Joe Junkin, playing alongside former Seals Brian Perry, Bobby Sheehan, Kent Douglas, 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 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.