1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 252 Billy Harris Hockey Card (Front)
1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 252 Billy Harris Hockey Card (Back)
1976-77 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
A smooth-skater with a good shot, Islanders first pick when they started building five years ago. He scored 16 power play goals last season. Billy has not missed a game with Islanders.
En Français
Billy, un bon patineur au lancer puissant, fut le premier joueur choisi par les Islanders il y a cinq ans. La saison dernière, il marqua 16 buts durant des jeux de puissance. Billy n’a pas manqué un match avec les Islanders.
Details
The 16 powerplay goals scored by Billy Harris in 1975-76 placed him seventh in the NHL, just three goals away from leader Phil Esposito of the New York Rangers. The 16 accounted for exactly half of his season goal total of 32.
Harris was the first overall pick at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft and the first ever player drafted by the New York Islanders. It’s fitting that he played the team’s first 576 games. That streak still ranks him 16th all-time amongst NHL players. The streak ended in November, 1979 and by March, 1980 he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Butch Goring.
Billy caught the attention of the expansion Islanders after a stellar junior career with the Toronto Marlboros. In his final season, 1971-72, he scored 57 goals and assisted on 72 for 129 points, playing alongside Dave Gardner and Steve Shutt. Harris and Gardner led the league in points while Shutt led with 63 goals.
Between 1972-73 and 1983-84, Billy Harris played 897 regular season and 71 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He topped the 20 goal plateau in his first six seasons in the NHL and had a career best 32 in 1975-76.