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Don Marcotte

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Don Marcotte
Born (1947-04-15) April 15, 1947 (age 77)
Arthabaska, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Playing career 1967–1982

Donald Michel Marcotte (born April 15, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who served his entire National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins and was noted as a premier defensive forward, while being versatile enough to play any forward position.

Early life

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Marcotte was born in Arthabaska, Quebec. He played junior league hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers in 1965, 1966 and 1967.

Career

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Marcotte turned professional in the 1968 season with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. After three starring seasons for the Bears, Marcotte was recalled in the 1970 season just in time to be a defensive mainstay on Boston's checking line with Derek Sanderson and Ed Westfall for the Bruins' 1970 Stanley Cup Finals where they ended their 29 year drought to win the championship.

Marcotte scored his first NHL goal in a 3–1 Boston loss to the Montreal Canadiens on February 15, 1969 at the Montreal Forum.

Marcotte would play twelve more seasons in Boston, winning a second Stanley Cup in 1972, and helping Boston to three more finals in 1974, 1977, and 1978, but Boston did not win the cup. Marcotte was honored by being selected one of the NHL All-Stars for the 1979 Challenge Cup.

Marcotte became noteworthy for his defense and penalty-killing—he led the NHL in shorthanded goals in 1971 with six—while scoring twenty or more goals seven times and thirty goals in 1975. Marcotte was assigned to shadow superstar wingers like the Chicago Black Hawks' Bobby Hull (the "Golden Jet") and Montreal Canadiens' Guy Lafleur (the "Flower"); Lafleur in turn "considered Marcotte the toughest checker he ever faced" after the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs.[1] Described by teammate Terry O'Reilly, Marcotte was said to have "tremendous concentration. He never takes his eyes off of his winger and he never stops skating. What he lacks in speed and finesse he compensates for with hustle and disciplined play. He is a hard body checker who believes in playing the man before the puck, yet as the small number of minutes he spends in the penalty box indicate, he is not a dirty player".[2]

In his later years as a Bruin, Marcotte mentored Steve Kasper into a premier defensive forward.[2] After being released in training camp by the Bruins in the fall of 1982, Marcotte retired from hockey. He had played in 868 games, scoring 230 goals and 254 assists for 484 points, and adding 317 penalty minutes. Marcotte's 21 shorthanded goals in the regular season ranks him fourth in Bruins' history behind only Brad Marchand, Rick Middleton and Derek Sanderson.

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1963–64 Victoriaville Bruins QJHL — — — — — 9 14 2 16 33
1964–65 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 56 28 23 51 94 11 7 5 12 30
1964–65 Niagara Falls Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 13 9 6 15 22
1965–66 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 45 28 22 50 76 6 3 3 6 11
1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1965–66 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 2 1 0 1 2 5 2 0 2 0
1966–67 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 35 21 21 42 38 13 8 8 16 28
1967–68 Hershey Bears AHL 72 31 22 53 35 5 0 1 1 16
1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 7 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
1968–69 Hershey Bears AHL 67 35 21 56 65 11 7 2 9 25
1969–70 Boston Bruins NHL 35 9 3 12 14 14 2 0 2 11
1969–70 Hershey Bears AHL 35 28 15 43 23 — — — — —
1970–71 Boston Bruins NHL 75 15 13 28 30 4 0 0 0 0
1971–72 Boston Bruins NHL 47 6 4 10 12 14 3 0 3 6
1971–72 Boston Braves AHL 8 4 7 11 2 — — — — —
1972–73 Boston Bruins NHL 78 24 31 55 49 5 1 1 2 0
1973–74 Boston Bruins NHL 78 24 26 50 18 16 4 2 6 8
1974–75 Boston Bruins NHL 80 31 33 64 76 3 1 0 1 0
1975–76 Boston Bruins NHL 58 16 20 36 24 12 4 2 6 8
1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 80 27 18 45 20 14 5 6 11 10
1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 77 20 34 54 16 15 5 4 9 8
1978–79 Boston Bruins NHL 79 20 27 47 10 11 5 3 8 10
1979–80 Boston Bruins NHL 32 4 11 15 0 10 2 3 5 4
1980–81 Boston Bruins NHL 72 20 13 33 32 3 2 2 4 6
1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 69 13 21 34 14 11 0 4 4 10
NHL totals 868 230 254 484 317 132 34 27 61 81

References

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  1. ^ "Three Little Words: Too Many Men". Sports Illustrated Longform.
  2. ^ a b "Defensive standout Don Marcotte proves two-way hockey still pays off". Christian Science Monitor. 22 March 1982.
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