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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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 l ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with the

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

between 1931 and 1946. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

twice with the Rangers, in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator 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 independen ...

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, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. 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 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

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-st ...

. 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Rangers from

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

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. T ...

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

Hockey Hall Of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

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; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

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 (AHL). 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 it ...

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 player-coaches Indianapolis Capitals players Marion Barons players New Haven Ramblers players New York Rangers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players St. Paul Saints (USHL) players Ice hockey people from Kitchener, Ontario Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Valleyfield Braves players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen