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Carl "Cully" Dahlstrom

BIRTHPLACE: Minneapolis, Minn.

BORN: July 3, 1913

DIED: December 19, 1998

TEAMS/ASSOCIATIONS: Minneapolis Millers, Chicago Blackhawks

 

Bio

Cully Dahlstrom played high school hockey at Minneapolis South and then went on to play for the Minneapolis Millers in the American Hockey Association. The AHA was a strong minor professional league of that time and sent many promising players into the National Hockey League.

It was there that he caught the eye of Major Fred McLaughlin of the Chicago Blackhawks, who was always on the lookout for promising American talent. Dahlstrom didn’t let McLaughlin down as he won the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League’s rookie of the year in 1938.  In the semi-final playoffs against the New York Americans he scored the winning goal in 1-0 overtime victory in the second game.  In the finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he scored the key first goal in the 4-1 victory which brought the Stanley Cup to the Windy City.

In the 1940-41 Stanley Cup playoffs Dahlstrom once again had a strong series against the Montreal Canadiens.  He scored once in a 4-3 loss and then won the series for the Hawks with two goals in the final 3-2 victory.  Chicago was subsequently eliminated by Detroit.  Dahlstrom ultimately decided to retire after the 1945 season.

Appearing in 368 regular and playoff games he scored 94 goals and 126 assists.  Dahlstrom’s most outstanding single season was 1943-44 when he scored 20 goals and 22 assists in the then 50 game schedule.