Ehrhardt Henry "Ott" Heller (June 2, 1910 – June 15, 1980) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

between 1931 and 1946. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

twice with the Rangers, in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. Originally a right wing, Heller learned to play as a defenseman early in his career.

Career

Heller started his

career with the

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, signing with the team as a free agent on November 2, 1931. He would his entire career with the Rangers and retire after the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

season. In 1941, he was a member of the

NHL All-Star team The National Hockey League All-Star teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position. Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the all-s ...

. He won the

twice, in

and

. He served as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Rangers from

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

Coaching

After leaving the Rangers in 1946, Heller had several head coaching stints in the minors, where he often had the dual role of player-coach. He led the

Indianapolis Capitals The Indianapolis Capitals were an American Hockey League professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1939 to 1952. The Capitals were a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. Indianapolis won the Calder Cup in 1942 and 1950. ...

to the Calder Cup as a player-coach during the 1949-50 AHL season, a team that had future

Hockey Hall Of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

goaltender

Terry Sawchuk Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929 – May 31, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kin ...

in net for 61 out of a possible 70 games. Heller finished his career with the Chatham Sr. Maroons in 1956, scoring two assists in seven games.

Death

Heller died on June 15, 1980 in his hometown of Kitchener, less than two weeks after his 70th birthday.

Legacy

In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Heller at No. 25 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and accomplishments

*1932–33,

champion (

) *1936–37, Most Penalty Minutes (New York Rangers - tie with Joe Cooper) *1938–39, Most Assists (New York Rangers) *1939–40, Stanley Cup champion (New York Rangers) *1940–41,

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

second All-Star team *1942–45, Team Captain (New York Rangers) *1946–47, AHL second All-Star team *1947–48, AHL first All-Star team *1949–50,

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

champion (

) *1953–54, IHL second All-Star team

References

External links

*
Picture of Ehrhardt Heller's Name on the 1940 Stanley Cup Plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Ehrhardt 1910 births 1980 deaths Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Ontario Ice hockey player-coaches Indianapolis Capitals players Marion Barons players New Haven Ramblers players New York Rangers players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players St. Paul Saints (USHL) players Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Valleyfield Braves players 20th-century Canadian people