Halderson was born as Halldór Halldórsson in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Icelandic immigrants Halldór Kristinn Halldórsson and Jórunn Kristolína Jónsdóttir. Halderson never played organized junior or intermediate ice hockey in his hometown of Winnipeg, but sprang into fame overnight when he joined the senior ranks of the Winnipeg Ypres team of the
Manitoba Hockey Association's military league in 1917–18. Halderson was nicknamed "Slim" due to his lanky frame during his first years in senior amateur and professional hockey. At the start of the 1921–22 season, Halderson's first in the
PCHA with the
Victoria Aristocrats, he weighed in at only 166 pounds on a 6 feet 2 inches frame. As his playing career went along he put on more weight. During the 1920–21 season,
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president
H. J. Sterling hired a detective who discovered that Halderson and teammate
Robert Benson received
C$6,500 to play amateur hockey. The
Amateur Athletic Union of Canada voided Halderson's registration card and he was suspended from the
1921 Allan Cup playoffs, although the
Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association allowed him and his Saskatoon team to continue in the league playoffs. Halderson scored the first goal in the history of the Detroit Cougars (modern day
Detroit Red Wings) franchise on November 20, 1926. ==Statistics==