William Edward Harris (born January 29, 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

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 h ...

player 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 ...

who played from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He helped the New York Islanders reach the NHL playoff semi-finals four times in five seasons from 1975 to 1979.

Playing career

As a youth, Harris played in the 1964

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Toronto Shopsy's

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. Harris was drafted first overall in the

1972 NHL Amateur Draft The 1972 NHL Amateur Draft was the 10th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Richard Brodeur, who played his last NHL game in the 1987– ...

by the expansion New York Islanders. He is known for being the first New York Islander. He played on Long Island until he was traded to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

on March 10, 1980, along with Dave Lewis for

Butch Goring Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring (born October 22, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four- ...

. Later that year, the Islanders won their first Stanley Cup of four in a row. Harris was never part of a winning Cup team, but he is remembered for helping the Islanders grow from their initial days as an expansion franchise to a dominant team in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Harris played more than 500 consecutive games for the Islanders before he was traded. He finished off the last few seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Kings and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

before retiring after the 1983–84 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Billy 1952 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Toronto Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League first-overall draft picks National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players St. Catharines Saints players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players