Remembering Helge Bostrom

A late bloomer of sorts, Helge Bostrom was already 35 years old when he finally debuted in the NHL in 1929-30 with the Chicago Black Hawks.

Joe Pelletier of GreatestHockeyLegends.com writes that, “Bulgy Helge Bostrom was a clerk by trade, but masqueraded as a long-time hockey player, including with the Chicago Black Hawks from 1929 through 1930.”

Described as "a colorful player" with "the reputation of being the most stitched player in the game," Helge was a likeable sort, equally at home on the ice or the baseball diamond.

A late bloomer of sorts, Bostrom was already 35 years old when he finally debuted in the NHL in 1929. He had spent the previous decade bouncing around the minor leagues in western Canada and Minnesota following his discharge from his service in World War I with the Canadian army.

During World War I, he served in France, along side hockey legends like Bullet Joe Simpson and Rabbit McVeigh, as a cook. Simpson arranged for a fake honour for Bostrom, claiming Helge "eliminated or wounded more Canadians with his skillet than the whole German Army."