Charles Stewart (ice hockey)


Charles Elmer "Doc" Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, most notably for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Stewart was born in Carleton Place, Ontario. After a junior career with the Kingston Collegiate Institute of the Ontario Hockey Association, Stewart starred in senior hockey for several teams in the OHA from 1914 to 1924, most notably for the Toronto Dentals for four seasons while undergoing medical training, being named to the league's Second All-Star Team in 1918 and the First All-Star Team in 1919. During that time, he enlisted in the Canadian Army Dental Corps in 1917, being commissioned as a lieutenant, and assigned to Battalion M. D. No. 2; he did not see overseas service before war's end.
With the Hamilton Tigers' senior team in 1922, 1923 and 1924, Stewart was named the First Team All-Star goaltender all three seasons.
The Boston Bruins began play in 1924 and losing eight of their first nine games, often by wide margins, and desperate for goaltending, signed Stewart to a contract. He played the rest of the schedule for Boston, winning five out of twenty-one games for the weak club, adding two shutouts. He remained the Bruins' goaltender for two more seasons, his best record coming in 1926, when he had a 16-14-4 record with six shutouts and a 2.21 goals against average.
Late in the 1927 season, the Bruins loaned Stewart to the Hamilton Tigers of the Canadian-American Hockey League, with whom he played nine games to finish his hockey career.
Stewart finished his NHL career with a 30-41-5 record and ten shutouts in 77 games, recording a 2.45 goals against average. His career goals against average is fifth best in Boston Bruins' history for any goaltender playing 75 games or more.

Personal life

Stewart's parents were Thomas H. and Bessie Allan Stewart. In 1926 he married Ida M. Dawson of Hamilton, Ontario.
His older brother was dentist and politician Harry Allan Stewart.
He graduated from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons in 1919, and practiced dentistry in the offseason thereafter.

Regular season