Ex-Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen retires

Seth Rorabaugh
Thursday, June 3, 2021 10:47 p.m. | Thursday, June 3, 2021 10:47 p.m.

Goaltender Brad Thiessen was a member of the Penguins for parts of five seasons.

Former Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen has retired from professional hockey.

A 12-year veteran who primarily played at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, the 35-year-old Thiessen announced his retirement via his Twitter account.

Time for the pads to be put away. Definitely emotional, but so thankful for the journey that God took me on through playing hockey for the past 30 years. Tried to put some thoughts into words, thank you to all who made it possible! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fIqJZvwY29

— Brad Thiessen (@uglygoalie39) June 3, 2021

Undrafted, Thiessen was signed to a two-year entry-level contract by the Penguins in April of 2009 following his junior year at Northeastern.

A few weeks later, he was a member of the team’s “Black Aces,” a group of prospects and minor leaguers who practice in conjunction with the main roster, during the Penguins’ run to the 2009 Stanley Cup championship.

Thiessen and his fellow Black Aces were captured on video celebrating the final seconds of Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final, a 2-1 road win against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

Brad Thiessen and other members of the Penguins' Black Aces watching Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final in a dressing room at Joe Louis Arena:https://t.co/4t2XP6Wg9P

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) June 4, 2021

After splitting the 2009-10 season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL and Wheeling of the ECHL, Thiessen became an AHL All-Star in 2010-11 and even won the “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as that league’s top goaltender that season.

Thiessen’s only NHL action in his career came during the 2011-12 season in the form of five games in which he compiled a 3-1-0 record along with a 3.72 goals against average and and .858 save percentage.

After spending most of 2011-12 and 2012-13 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Curry left the continent, signing with HIFK of Finland’s Liiga, that country’s top-tier league.

For the past six seasons, Thiessen has been a member of the Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters franchise of the AHL and was a member of that team’s Calder Cup championship in 2016.

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Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.