Penguins Re-Sign Goaltender Brad Thiessen
Tuesday, 07.05.2011 / 4:25 PM

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed goaltender Brad Thiessen to a one-year contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero.

Thiessen’s contract is a two-way deal worth $525,000 at the NHL level.

Thiessen, 25, is coming off a career year for the Penguins’ top minor-league affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 46 games for WBS, Thiessen posted a 35-8-1 record, 1.94 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Thiessen led the entire AHL and established WBS franchise records with his 35 victories and seven shutouts. Those numbers helped earn Thiessen the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender. Thiessen and his crease partner, John Curry, shared the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award as the duo that allowed the fewest regular-season goals (183) in the AHL.

A native of Aldergrove, BC, Thiessen’s outstanding season earned him a berth on the First-Team All-AHL squad, two Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month Awards (October; February) and the starting nod for the Eastern Conference at the 2011 AHL All-Star Game (which he missed due to injury).

Thiessen appeared in 12 postseason games for WBS this spring, posting a 6-6 overall record, 1.67 goals-against average, .940 save percentage and two shutouts.

Thiessen, who signed with the Pittsburgh organization as an undrafted free agent on April 8, 2009, has appeared in 76 career regular-season games for WBS, going 49-22-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. His 11 career regular-season shutouts are a WBS franchise record.

Thiessen spent three seasons playing at Northeastern University from 2006-09. During that time he appeared in 111 games, posting a 52-46-12 record. Following his junior season at Northeastern, Thiessen became a traveling member of the ‘Black Aces’ taxi squad throughout the Penguins’ 2009 Stanley Cup championship run.
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