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By Taylor Prestidge, Features Writer
After Andrew Harris took a 20-year hiatus from competitive hockey to pursue professional football – winning four Grey Cup championships and becoming the first player in CFL history to win both the Grey Cup MVP and Most Outstanding Canadian Award – he has surprisingly become a household name for fans of the Tillsonburg Thunder in the Ontario Super Hockey League.
Harris’ football journey was nothing short of spectacular. Over the course of his 14-year CFL career, the running back indelibly left his mark on the Canadian sporting landscape. He broke numerous records, including becoming the CFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards by a Canadian. Beyond his statistical accomplishments, Harris was known for his work ethic and passion for the game of football, and he was a fixture on his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a six-year span.
Although his longevity was impressive in a position typically reserved for young players (and American imports), nagging injuries and limited touches helped Harris make the decision to retire from football in 2024 at 37. As he stepped away from the game, CFL fans were left to wonder what the future held for the multi-talented athlete. It turns out, the answer would be one that no one saw coming: hockey.
The transition to the ice might seem unconventional, but for Harris, it’s been a natural progression. After deciding to focus on football in his late teens, he continued playing various levels of recreational hockey in the Winnipeg area every off-season, and he credits the sport for helping improve his on-field agility and keeping his cardio in check. His athleticism and competitive drive have translated from one sport to the other, something that made him a can’t-miss prospect for WHL scouts during his teenage years in Winnipeg.
While hockey and football are distinctly different, some of the requisite skills – speed, strength and a willingness to battle – are similar.
“Hockey was definitely the first sport that I loved, and it was one of those things where I could just spend hours training by myself as a young player on outdoor rinks,” Harris said. “Football is tough that way because it’s not very fun to play without a group of other people, but my experience in the sport of hockey definitely made me a better running back on the field.”
Becoming a dual-sport athlete is no easy feat, especially after retiring from one professional career and entering a completely new one. Images of Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Michael Jordan come to mind, but the football/hockey combination at a professional or semi-pro level hasn’t been seen since Gerry James plied his trade with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 1950s and ’60s.
Harris credits a conversation he had at a London Knights OHL game last spring with Ontario Jr. B Strathroy Rockets coaches Terry Walters and former NHLer Jason Williams with encouraging him to pursue hockey in the OSHL. After Walters introduced Harris to the Thunder’s management, it became obvious to Tillsonburg coach Rick Voltera that the former CFLer was both excited to join the club – and more than physically ready to make the jump to semi-pro hockey.
- Tillsonburg coach Rick Voltera
“Everything about it got me excited,” Voltera said. “Running backs take the biggest hits and hit the hardest, and for me, hockey is about physicality. When I met Andrew, he had the biggest smile on his face, and when we saw him on the ice the first time, I was in shock. I was just astounded by the power he has when he’s skating, and he’s out there pushing around guys who’ve recently played pro like they’re flies.”
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The semi-pro OSHL first came to be in 2024. It was the result of a merger between the Western Ontario Super Hockey League (founded in 2021) and the even-newer Central Ontario Super Hockey League (formed in 2024 and immediately merged with the WOSHL). Presented to fans as an alternative to traditional senior hockey, the 15-team circuit features clubs from Richmond Hill to Petrolia and in seemingly every little hockey town in between.
The league is predominately made up of former junior and minor-pro players, with a smattering of ex-NHLers, including Tyler Randell, Rob Schremp and Jake Dotchin. “They offer things I didn’t think you’d get in senior hockey, and it definitely feels like minor pro, with (amenities) in the room, staff like massage therapists and really awesome support from fans,” said Dotchin, the former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman who now plays for the Alvinston Killer Bees after three seasons in Czechia with Jaromir Jagr’s Kladno Knights. “I can’t say enough about my experience. It’s well-run, and there’s a lot of good people around our team and the league.”
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Harris’ physicality and leadership are evident, and his on-ice awareness – developed over years of playing other sports – has allowed him to adapt quickly to the nuances of the game. In his first season in Tillsonburg, Harris put up 16 points in 17 regular-season contests. In mid-January, he was named one of the league’s three stars of the week after a five-point performance in a sold-out game against the Killer Bees – a contest that saw him deliver several crushing hits reminiscent of his CFL days and a highlight-reel goal that went viral across hockey’s social-media landscape. In the following game against the Richmond Hill Coyotes, Harris held his own in a dust-up against Alex Basey, a player with over 100 pro fights to his name and recent back-to-back seasons of 200-plus penalty minutes in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
With that said, Harris isn’t afraid to set his ego aside and admit there have been some transition pains. “The game has changed a lot since I played (competitively), and adjusting to it has been a challenge,” he said. “Learning the different roles on the power play, our breakout structure, things like that. I haven’t had to do those things playing (off-season rec hockey) in Winnipeg for the past two decades. I’m still making mistakes, but my teammates are great at helping me out.”
While it’s still early days for Harris in his hockey career, his journey is already becoming a testament to the power of persistence and versatility in sport. Many athletes leave their prime years behind after retiring from their first sport, but Harris is proving that it’s possible to forge a new path. His journey is an inspiring reminder that it’s never too late to pursue a passion and challenge oneself in new ways.
Harris’ passion for football remains, however. The final season of his storied CFL career was chronicled in the Apple TV+ documentary Running Back Relentless, and he continues to work in junior football with the Vancouver Island Raiders. In the spring, he’ll find himself on the other side of the ‘Banjo Bowl’ as he heads to the Saskatchewan Roughriders to be their running backs coach. Once the 2025 CFL season wraps up, he intends to move back to Winnipeg and join one of the clubs in the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League.
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“It’s helped me with the identity crisis that we call becoming a ‘NARP’ (non-athletic regular person),” Harris said. “When your purpose is always to get out of bed and go train and get on the field, to not have that anymore makes you really start to question your identity. Going back to the sport of hockey, it’s not playing in the CFL, but it definitely helps with that transition.”
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- Andrew Harris
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His transition from the gridiron to the rink has only added to Harris’ legacy. From his days as a record-breaking CFL running back to his future in hockey, he has shown that the pursuit of greatness doesn’t end after one career; it can be re-invented, reborn and redefined – on any playing surface.
This article appeared in our 2025 Top-100 NHLers issue. This issue focuses on the 100 best players currently in the NHL, with the Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon sitting atop the list. We also include features on Alex Ovechkin finally beating Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, and former CFL running back Andrew Harris' switch to semi-professional hockey. In addition, we provide a PWHL playoff preview as the regular season nears its end.
You can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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