Cleveland Monsters goaltender Brad Thiessen announced his retirement on Thursday following a 12-year pro career spent primarily in the American Hockey League.
Thiessen, 35, spent the last six seasons in Cleveland following stints with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2009-13), Norfolk Admirals (2013-14) and Adirondack Flames (2014-15). In 290 career regular-season appearances in the AHL, Thiessen posted a record of 146-100-30 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. His 28 shutouts are good for ninth on the league’s all-time list.
A native of Aldergrove, B.C., Thiessen won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender in 2010-11, and received the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award in both 2010-11 and 2012-13 as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton allowed the fewest goals in the league. In 2017-18, Thiessen was Cleveland’s team winner of the IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year award for his work in the local community.
Thiessen also played 49 career Calder Cup Playoff games, recording a 2.10 GAA, a .922 save percentage and five shutouts. He helped the Penguins to a historic series win over Providence in 2013 after they had trailed 0-3, and was on Lake Erie’s roster when they won the Calder Cup in 2016,
Undrafted out of Northeastern University, Thiessen appeared in five career NHL games, all with Pittsburgh in 2011-12.