Milt Schmidt

Milton Conrad Schmidt (March 5, 1918 – January 4, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach, and general manager who spent most of his career with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. Raised in Kitchener, Ontario, he attended King Edward Public School and briefly Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School before dropping out at age 14 to support his family, taking a job at a shoe factory for 18 cents an hour after his father became too ill to work regularly. As a player, Schmidt centred the famed "Kraut Line" alongside teammates Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart. The trio led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships and, in 1939–40, became the first line to finish first, second, and third in NHL scoring. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. After retiring as a player, Schmidt remained with the Bruins, serving as head coach for eleven years and then as general manager, a role in which he oversaw the team's Stanley Cup victories in 1970 and 1972. In 2017, the year of his death, Schmidt was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in league history.