Career
He was the first Finnish-born hockey player in the National Hockey League and possibly in North America. Following his hockey career Pudas was active in the capacity of referee. Pudas moved to Canada at the age of 18 months.
He began his hockey career in Portuguese Arthur, Ontario with the Pascoes, Ports, and later, the Portuguese Arthur Bearcats.
On October 28, 1926, Pudas accepted a contract offer from the Toronto Saint Pats, along with fellow Bearcats Bill Brydge, Danny Cox and Lorne Chabot. Pudas was recalled December 29, 1926, by the Toronto Maple Leafs (the Street Pats renamed themselves early in the season) to play a pair of games against Boston and Montreal.
These four games made Pudas officially the first Finnish-born player to play in the National Hockey League. In 1936, Pudas coached the Portuguese Arthur Bearcats who represented Canada in the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany.