Henry William "Sprague" Cleghorn combined outstanding skating, high-end offensive skill and fierce physical play to become one of the earliest puck-rushing defensemen in the NHL.

Cleghorn began his professional career with the Renfrew Hockey Club of the National Hockey Association in the 1910-11 season as a forward but soon was moved to defenseman. He played the next six seasons with the Montreal Wanderers. He had 33 points (21 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games in 1914-15 and was their captain in 1915-16.

He left Montreal after the team's arena burned down, and in 1918-19 joined the Ottawa Senators. He made his NHL debut with a goal and an assist against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 21, 1918.

In 1919-20 Cleghorn led NHL defensemen with 16 goals and 83 penalty minutes, and the Senators went 19-5-0 in the regular season. He had one assist in five games against the Seattle Metropolitans to help Ottawa win the Stanley Cup.

Cleghorn began 1920-21 with the Toronto St. Patricks but returned to Ottawa to help them win the Cup in 1921. He joined his hometown Canadiens in 1921, where his younger brother, Odie Cleghorn, was a high-scoring forward. In 1921-22, Sprague was second among NHL defensemen in goals (17) and points (26) and led the League with 80 penalty minutes.

Cleghorn was named Canadiens captain in 1922, and in 1923-24 helped Montreal win the Stanley Cup. He had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 23 games and was second in Hart Trophy voting behind Senators forward Frank Nighbor.

In 1925, he moved to the Boston Bruins, where he played his final three NHL seasons. He had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 28 games in 1925-26 and was second in Hart voting to Montreal Maroons forward Nels Stewart.

When Cleghorn played his last NHL game in 1928, his 148 points were second among NHL defensemen to George Boucher (185) and his 85 goals were third after Boucher (111) and Harry Cameron (88).

Cleghorn was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.