Johnny Harms

Johnny Harms
Born	(1925-04-29)April 29, 1925 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	January 5, 2003(2003-01-05) (aged 77) Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career	1943–1956

John Harms (April 29, 1925 – January 5, 2003) was a Canadian ice hockey player of Cree heritage who played 44 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons. The rest of his career lasted from 1943 to 1961 and was spent in various minor leagues. He died at age 78 from a burst esophagus.

Early life

Harms was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, at Saskatoon City Hospital, to Helen Laird (née Hauback) and George Laird, a farmer, both from Marquis Saskatchewan. When he was 10 days old, he was adopted by a Dutch-speaking couple, John and Helen Harms. He attended elementary school, and later studied art in Saskatoon, before playing hockey. He lived with his adoptive family until the age of 18 when he was drafted into the NHL.

Entry into the NHL

During the 1942-43 season, at the age of 17, he played for the Saskatoon Quakers and helped the team win the Memorial Cup with 4 goals and 2 assists. In the 1943-44 season he signed with the Chicago Black Hawks where he played 4 games in the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was sent to the Hersey Bears of the American Hockey League for the last part of the 1943-44 season and in 1944 he was back in the NHL playing 43 games in the regular season with the Black Hawks scoring 5 goals and 5 assists. Of the 26 players on the Black Hawks roster in 1944, 19 were Canadians.

Post NHL

Between 1945 and 1950 he played with the Kansas City Pla-Mors which is where he met his future wife Donna Bell Spencer with whom he had 3 children; John, Michael, and Catherine. He worked as a lineman and an electrician for the British Columbia Power and Hydro Authority for 25 years between 1959 and 1984 and during that time brought hydro to many remote regions of the Okanagan and Shuswap regions of British Columbia.

He was recruited to play for several Canadian teams after 1949 playing for the Regina Capitals (1950-51), the Nelson Maple Leafs (1950-52), the Vernon Canadians (1951-61), and one year (1959-60) with the Kelowna Packers.  In 1956 his team won the Allan Cup, the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. The reigning Allan Cup champion was usually chosen to represent Canada in ice hockey at the Olympic Games or the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1942–43	Saskatoon Quakers	NSJHL		8	4	3	7	28		3	2	3	5	6
1942–43	Saskatoon Quakers	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		8	4	2	6	12
1943–44	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		4	3	0	3	2
1943–44	Hershey Bears	AHL		52	10	21	31	35		7	2	1	3	6
1944–45	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		43	5	5	10	21		—	—	—	—	—
1944–45	Providence Reds	AHL		3	0	4	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
1945–46	Kansas City Pla-Mors	USHL		45	26	25	51	73		12	2	2	4	14
1946–47	Kansas City Pla-Mors	USHL		60	21	34	55	80		12	3	9	12	9
1947–48	Kansas City Pla-Mors	USHL		66	29	40	69	56		7	2	6	8	0
1948–49	Kansas City Pla-Mors	USHL		57	19	48	67	64		2	0	0	0	0
1949–50	Kansas City Pla-Mors	USHL		64	15	27	42	38		3	2	0	2	2
1950–51	Regina Capitals	WCSHL		21	0	7	7	12		—	—	—	—	—
1950–51	Nelson Maple Leafs	WIHL		25	8	12	20	99		4	1	2	3	12
1951–52	Nelson Maple Leafs	WIHL		37	14	30	44	80		3	2	2	4	5
1951–52	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		52	30	37	60	110		5	2	2	4	20
1953–54	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		55	27	23	50	113		5	1	3	4	4
1954–55	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		53	17	23	40	52		5	2	4	6	2
1954–55	Vernon Canadians	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		17	5	13	18	16
1955–56	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		39	16	25	41	58		8	4	3	7	32
1955–56	Vernon Canadians	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		13	5	16	21	10
1956–57	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		49	20	38	58	87		12	3	6	9	26
1957–58	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		37	9	11	20	62		8	0	4	4	16
1958–59	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		—	—	—	—	—		2	0	1	1	2
1959–60	Kelowna Packers	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		6	1	3	4	2
1960–61	Vernon Canadians	OSHL		39	9	34	43	131		5	1	6	7	6
OSHL totals				325	128	191	319	613		50	13	29	42	108
NHL totals				44	5	5	10	21		4	3	0	3	2

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database