John Chad – Athlete
John Chad’s professional hockey career spanned 14 seasons, including three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.Chad began his hockey career at the minor level in Prince Albert and first tasted success at a higher level with the 1935 juvenile hockey championship with the St. Mark’s team.
After playing junior hockey with the Saskatoon Chiefs, Chad joined the Edmonton EAC’s in 1938 and 1939. The 1939 team won the Abbott Cup, emblematic of Western Canadian supremacy, and lost in the Memorial Cup final.
The following season, Chad joined the Providence Rhode Island Reds of the American Hockey League. 22 points in 31 games with the Reds earned the right winger a place in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks.Chad had 11 points in 22 games with the Blackhawks in the 1939-40 season and followed that with 25 points in 44 games in the 1940-41 season.
The Second World War interrupted Chad’s NHL career as he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1941.
Following the war, Chad returned to the Blackhawks for 13 games in 1946.The next season saw him back in Providence, where he established himself as an American Hockey League standout. Over five seasons Chad averaged better than a point a game for Providence. His performance earned Chad a number of honors, including the Jack Fox Memorial Trophy as the outstanding player combining sportsmanship and effective playing ability in the 1949-50 season. Chad completed his professional hockey career with two seasons with the Saskatoon Quakers of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. He continued to play at a high level of skill, being named to the league’s all-star team in 1951, and helping his club to the league championship in 1952.
Chad was inducted into the Providence Rhode Island Reds Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
Following his playing days, Chad remained involved in the game, coaching the University of Saskatchewan hockey team for two seasons and the Prince Albert Mintos in 1960. He also managed the University of Saskatchewan curling rink and was a golf professional at Waskesiu for 10 years.
John Chad passed away in 1983.
The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct John Chad in the athlete category.Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
