OHL mourns the loss of Dennis Hull

The Ontario Hockey League mourns the passing of Dennis Hull, a former St. Catharines Teepees and Black Hawks forward who went-on to a lengthy NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks. He died May 30 at the age of 81.

Born in Point Anne, Ont., on Nov. 19, 1944, Hull spent four formative seasons in St. Catharines from 1960 to 1964, suiting up for the Teepees and, after the franchise was renamed, the St. Catharines Black Hawks. He developed into one of the OHA’s most dangerous offensive forwards, capping his junior career in 1963–64 with 48 goals and 97 points in 55 games and earning OHA Junior A First All-Star Team honours. Over four seasons, he recorded 173 points in 202 regular-season games while skating alongside future NHL talents in one of the era’s premier development programs.

Hull went on to a 14-season National Hockey League career, the bulk of it with the Chicago Black Hawks (1964–77) before a final season with the Detroit Red Wings (1977–78). A swift, hard-shooting left winger, he scored more than 300 NHL goals and earned the nickname “the Silver Jet,” a nod to his Hall of Fame brother Bobby, “the Golden Jet.” Hull’s finest season came in 1972–73, when he posted 39 goals and 90 points and helped Chicago reach the Stanley Cup Final. He was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1973, played in five NHL All-Star Games and represented Canada in the historic 1972 Summit Series.

After hockey, Hull returned to St. Catharines to study at Brock University, later teaching at Ridley College and serving as athletic director at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He became a celebrated public speaker and author whose warmth and humour endeared him to fans across the hockey world.

The OHL extends its deepest condolences to the Hull family, including his nephew, Brett Hull, and to all who knew and admired him.