John Hanna

Statistics

The road that led John Hanna to Seattle was opposite of that that brought most players to the city - he had already played parts of five seasons in the NHL (New York, Detroit and Philadelphia) as well as seven successful seasons with Quebec in the AHL.  His rights were sent to the Totems by the Philadelphia Flyers to complete the deal that originally sent Earl Heiskala to the Flyers.

Prior to his time in Seattle Hanna had developed a reputation as a solid defenseman but one who didn't contribute a lot offensively, averaging around five goals and 25 assists per season.  That all changed during his first year with the Totems when he exploded for 25 goals, tying the WHL single-season record for goals by a defenseman.  He was also awarded the league MVP award and his first of two Laycoe Cups as the league's top defenseman.

Hanna came back down to earth in 1969-70, though he was still the top scoring defenseman on the team.  He had another fantastic season in 1970-71 and his 60 points were the best on the club (tied with Bob Jones), which struggled offensively all season long.  His 20 goals were the second best total on the team behind the 27 scored by Gary Veneruzzo, and he won his second Laycoe Cup as the league's best blueliner. 

The 1971-72 season was a low point for the Totems franchise, as the team staggered out of the gate to a 2-27-0 start.  Hanna was lost early in November to hernia surgery that put him on the shelf for two months and only allowed him to get into 36 games.  Following the 1971-72 season he was selected in the WHA General Player Draft and played with the Cleveland Crusaders in 1972-73.  After two brief stints in the AHL from 1973-75 Hanna hung up the skates for good and entered the coaching ranks, taking over the reins of Cleveland of the WHA in 1974-75, earning a 14-18-1 record.