A former Belleville Bulls netminder has been nominated for the National Hockey League’s Vezina Trophy.
Philipp Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche is one of three nominees for the annual award, which recognizes the NHL’s top goaltender.
The native of Rosenheim, Germany backstopped the Avs to 30 wins, nine losses and one overtime loss during the 2020/21 season, with a goals against average of 1.95 and a save percentage of .922, plus seven shutouts in 40 starts.
He’s also unbeaten in five playoff games so far, helping the Avalanche to a first round sweep of the St. Louis Blues and a series-opening win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Grubauer made 48 starts for the Bulls between 2008 and 2010, with other Ontario Hockey League stops in Windsor and Kingston.
Since leaving the OHL at the end of the 2010/11 season, Grubauer has played 69 games in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays and Reading Royals, 105 American Hockey League games, all with the Hershey Bears and 214 NHL games between the Washington Capital and Colorado, where he’s been since the 2018/19 campaign.
The other nominees for the Vezina Trophy this year are Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights and Andrei Vasilevsky of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The winner will be announced sometime during the NHL’s Stanley Cup Seminfals and Stanley Cup Final.
Philipp Grubauer played 48 games for the Belleville Bulls, between 2008 and 2010. (Photo: Aaron Bell / OHL Images)
