Hap Emms

Did You Know?

• Emms broke his leg during the 1941–42 season while playing for the Omaha Knights but remained as coach and led the team to the AHA championship.
• During the 1965–66 and 1966–67 seasons, Emms was general manager of both the Boston Bruins and the Niagara Falls Flyers.
• Emms suffered a stroke in 1983 that left him unable to walk or talk, and he died of heart failure on October 22, 1988, in Niagara Falls.

Playing career

Emms began as a left winger in junior hockey from 1921 to 1925. He signed with the Montreal Maroons as a free agent on November 10, 1926, and spent two seasons splitting time between the Maroons and the Stratford Nationals of the Canadian Professional Hockey League. He then played two seasons with the Windsor Bulldogs of the International Hockey League, scoring 21 goals each year. Traded to the New York Americans on May 14, 1930, he played his first full NHL season in 1930–31 at age 25.

After starting 1931–32 with the Americans, he was traded to the Detroit Falcons on December 29, 1931, and later played briefly for the New Haven Eagles before returning to the NHL. He spent three seasons in Detroit but was unhappy and requested his release from Jack Adams. Signed as a free agent by the Boston Bruins on October 28, 1934, he switched to defence but played only 11 games before being traded back to the New York Americans on December 14, 1934.

He played three more seasons in New York and was traded to Detroit on February 13, 1938, ending his NHL career. He finished his playing days with Detroit's farm team, the Pittsburgh Hornets of the IAHL, for two seasons.

Barrie Flyers

Emms founded the Barrie Flyers in his hometown of Barrie in the Ontario Hockey Association, serving as head coach and owner from 1945 to 1960. The team was sponsored by the Boston Bruins. In their third season, the Flyers won their first J. Ross Robertson Cup by defeating the original Windsor Spitfires, then won the George Richardson Memorial Trophy against the Montreal Nationales. They lost the 1948 Memorial Cup to the Port Arthur West End Bruins.

The following season, Barrie repeated as OHA champions by beating the Toronto Marlboros but lost the Eastern Canada final to the Montreal Royals. After rebuilding in 1950, the Flyers finished first in the OHA in 1951, won the OHA finals again over the Toronto Marlboros, captured the Eastern Canada title versus the Quebec Citadels, and won the 1951 Memorial Cup against the Winnipeg Monarchs. In 1953, Emms was involved in controversy when he refused to play a Sunday playoff game for religious reasons and had a goal judge handcuffed and removed from Barrie Arena.

That season, the Flyers won their fourth J. Ross Robertson Cup, third George Richardson Memorial Trophy, and second Memorial Cup, defeating the St. Boniface Canadiens. His next seven seasons were less successful, though the team reached the 1956 OHA finals. Notable players he coached included Dick Cherry, Don Cherry, Real Chevrefils, Marv Edwards, Ray Gariepy, Howie Glover, Leo Labine, Wayne Maxner, Gilles Mayer, Don McKenney, Paul Meger, Doug Mohns, Jim Morrison, Ron Stewart, Orval Tessier, Jerry Toppazzini, and Ed Westfall.

Niagara Falls Flyers

Emms moved the franchise from Barrie to Niagara Falls, Ontario, operating it from 1960 to 1972. He gradually gave up coaching but remained owner and general manager. The Bruins sponsored the team until direct NHL sponsorship of junior clubs ended in 1967. In the third season in Niagara Falls, the Flyers finished first in the OHA, winning the Hamilton Spectator Trophy with 69 points.

They defeated the Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons in the OHA finals for Emms's fifth J. Ross Robertson Cup, then beat the Espanola Eagles in the Eastern Canada finals but lost the 1963 Memorial Cup to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games. Two seasons later, the Flyers again finished first with 81 points, won a second Hamilton Spectator Trophy, defeated the Toronto Marlboros in the OHA finals, and faced the Edmonton Oil Kings again in the 1965 Memorial Cup, winning in five games for Emms's third Memorial Cup.

Three seasons later, the Flyers finished fourth in the OHA but won the J. Ross Robertson Cup against the Kitchener Rangers and the Eastern Canada final versus the Verdun Maple Leafs. Four of the five games in the 1968 Memorial Cup were played at the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena, and the Flyers won all four home games for their second Memorial Cup title and Emms's fourth. After 1968, many players graduated to higher leagues, and the Flyers struggled, missing the playoffs twice and winning only one playoff series.

Emms sold the team in 1972, and it relocated to become the Sudbury Wolves. Notable players included Don Awrey, Jim Lorentz, Rick Ley, Don Marcotte, Barry Wilkins, Rosaire Paiement, Steve Atkinson, Bill Goldsworthy, Jean Pronovost, John Arbour, Gilles Marotte, Bernie Parent, Doug Favell, Derek Sanderson, Brad Selwood, Phil Roberto, Tom Webster, and Phil Myre.

St. Catharines Blackhawks

Emms bought the St. Catharines Black Hawks in 1972, right after selling the Flyers. During his first season, the league suspended him over a dispute with Toronto Marlboros forward Mark Napier, who had signed a future World Hockey Association contract with the Toronto Toros. Emms thought it was unfair for a player he considered a professional to compete in junior hockey, so he told his own players to wear their jerseys backward and hold their sticks upside down during a game against Toronto.

The Marlboros won 14-0, and commissioner Tubby Schmalz fined Emms $1,000 and banned him for a year. By the 1973-74 season, Emms had turned the Black Hawks into a powerhouse. They finished second in the regular season, swept all three OHA playoff rounds, and won the J. Ross Robertson Cup against the Peterborough Petes. That was Emms’s eighth and final OHA championship as a general manager.

At the 1974 Memorial Cup in Calgary, his team beat the Quebec Remparts 4-1, lost to the Regina Pats 4-0, and then fell 11-3 to Quebec in the semifinal. He stayed with the Black Hawks for two more seasons in St. Catharines, missing the playoffs both times. Players who came through the club included Wilf Paiement, Gary McAdam, Rick Hampton, Ken Breitenbach, Garry Lariviere, Rick Adduono, and Dave Gorman. After the 1975-76 season, Emms moved the team to Niagara Falls, creating the second version of the Niagara Falls Flyers.

In his final two years, the team missed the playoffs again but developed future Hall of Famer Mike Gartner. In the 1977 draft, Emms held the second overall pick and chose Steve Peters instead of Wayne Gretzky. He sold the Flyers to Reg Quinn in 1978 and retired from hockey.