Many goalies crave for the chance to actually get to the championships, but to do it for four straight seasons is amazing-- more amazing that a guy would go 0-for-4 in those appearances. Even so, the small-town guy was able to get his chance in the NHL and would bounce around from minors to minors. This week, the profile of John Adams.
Adams stayed close to home while starting his journey, playing for the hometown Port Arthur North Stars in the Thunder Bay Junior League in the 1963-64 season, helping them to the Memorial Cup tournament and went 3-3 in six games at the Memorial Cup. In the 1964-65 season, Adams went 13-8-1 in 22 games, against going to the Memorial Cup tournament and going 1-3 in five games. The 1965-66 season saw Adams play the regular season with Port Arthur and compile a 18-6-2 record in 26 game, but was loaned out to the Port William Canadiens for another Memorial Cup, but go 6-4 in 11 games played.
The North Stars changed their name to the Marrs, where Adams would play in the 1966-67 season, having a 20-8-2 record in 30 games, then 4-1 in five playoff games-- going to yet another Memorial Cup, as Port Arthur would lose in the Finals in five games, but Adams would go 11-8 in 19 tournament games. Adams is one of the few players to reach the Memorial Cup for four consecutive tournaments.
During the summer of 1967, Adams signed with the Boston Bruins, but would be assigned to the Dayton Gems of the IHL for the 1967-68 season for 45 games and for 32 games in the 1968-69 season (no records given), though Adams did share the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the fewest goals against with Pat Rupp.
In the 1969-70 season, Adams went to the Central League to play for the Oklahoma City Blazers and would go 18-26-7 in 51 games with five shutouts. Adams was also called up for the Bruins Stanley Cup run and despite not playing a game, his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup-- being one of the few players to have their name on the Cup before playing a NHL game.
Adams returned to Oklahoma City for the 1970-71 season and play 57 games and finish with a 25-22-10 record and 1-4 playoff record, while in the 1971-72 season; Adams went 15-15-3 in 41 games, being named to the CHL First All-Star Team and letting in the fewest goals against in the CHL.
The Bruins would use the services of Adams 14 games in the 1972-73 season, as he would post a 9-3-1 record, but he would be sent to the AHL's Boston Braves after that for 23 games (no record) and eight playoff games (4-4).
In the summer of 1973, Adams would be sent to the WHL's San Diego Gulls as the player to be named later in the Ken Broderick trade that happened in March of 1973. In the 1973-74 season with the Gulls, Adams would post a 38-26-4 record in his 69 appearances, then 0-4 in the playoffs.
The Gulls would trade Adams to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 1974 for cash, while Adams would go 0-7-0 for the first-year franchise in Washington. The Caps would send Adams to the AHL's Richmond Robins where he would play in 28 games and post a 7-13-3 record.
Adams would leave the pros to be a player/coach for the Thunder Bay Twins in the Ontario Senior League and would play from the 1975-76 season until the 1979-80 season before retiring. It was almost a decade before Adams got back into the hockey landscape, becoming an assistant coach for the Colonial Hockey League's Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks in 1991.
Adams has stepped out of the big limelight for hockey, but still gets around the Thunder Bay area. In fact, Adams still keeps in touch with the Bruins organzation, even talking to Tim Thomas when he was in a slump and lost his starting job.
Though he was able to get to the championships for four straight seasons-- it was the season he didn't play a game in which he would be forever remembered for. After that, it was a lot of shuffling and a lot of bad opportunities before Adams would finally go where his heart was-- home.
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