M. C. “Milt” Schmidt

The centre on one of the most potent lines in the history of the National Hockey League was Milton Conrad Schmidt, born in Kitchener, Ontario, March 5, 1918.

Schmidt played between Wood Dumart and Bobby Bauer on a unit dubbed the Kraut Line by Albert “Battleship” Leduc. With the exception of three years when he was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, Schmidt played for Boston from 1936 to 1937 season until midway through 1954 to 1955 when he gave up playing to become the Bruins coach. After seven seasons of coaching, Schmidt moved up to the management level.

Schmidt was a powerful, hard-hitting centre who never gave up the puck without a fight. He stood six feet tall and weighed 185 pounds. During his NHL career, Milt scored 229 goals and a total of 346 points. He won the league scoring title in 1939 and 1940, won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 1951 and 1952, and played for two Stanley Cup-winning teams, 1938 and 1939 and 1940 and 1941. He was also voted three times to the league’s first All-Star team -1939 and 1940, 1946 and 1947 and 1950 and 1951 – and to the second team in 1951 and 1952.

A strong, hard skater, Schmidt was also a clever stick-handler and always dangerous around the nets. He never stopped trying.