CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Punch Broadbent

Canadian ice hockey player (1892-1971)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ1147132
Source-derived summary

Harold Lawton "Harry" Broadbent (July 13, 1892 – March 5, 1971) was a Canadian ice hockey player. Broadbent played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons and the New York Americans in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) between 1912 and 1929. Broadbent won the Stanley Cup four times during his career, three times with Ottawa and once with Montreal. He is regarded as one of the first true power forwards in NHL history. For this reason, he was known in his day as "Punch" and "Old Elbows".

In the 1921–22 NHL season, Broadbent scored at least one goal in 16 consecutive games from December 16, 1921 to February 15, 1922, an NHL record that remains unbroken over a century later.

Personal life

Born in Ottawa, Ontario. Broadbent married Leda Fitzsimmons and had one daughter, Sally Ann Broadbent. In the summer of 1915 Broadbent enlisted in the Canadian military to serve in the First World War. He served in the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, and was promoted to Bombardier in October 1916.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Punch Broadbent” is canadian ice hockey player (1892-1971). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Punch, Broadbent and Canadian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1892, 1971, 1912, 1929—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1892-07-13. For this dossier, Punch, Broadbent and Canadian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “canadian ice hockey player (1892-1971)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1147132. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1892, 1971, 1912 and 1929.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Punch Broadbent”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Punch Broadbent primary sources, Punch Broadbent archive and Punch research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Punch Broadbent”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Punch Broadbent” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.