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Don McKenney

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Don McKenney
Born (1934-04-30)April 30, 1934
Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada
Died December 19, 2022(2022-12-19) (aged 88)
Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1953–1970
Coaching career
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1970–1989Northeastern (Assistant)
1989–1991Northeastern
Head coaching record
Overall24–44–4 (.361)

Donald Hamilton McKenney (April 30, 1934 – December 19, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey forward and coach. He played in the National Hockey League between 1954 and 1968 with five teams, mostly with the Boston Bruins. After retiring he worked as a coach for Northeastern University for over twenty years.

Early career

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Noted as a smooth and classy player, McKenney was signed as a teenager by Harold Cotton, the longtime head scout for the Boston Bruins. He played junior hockey for the OHA Barrie Flyers (a team that was, as was common in the era, sponsored by the Bruins), coached by future Bruins' general manager Hap Emms. McKenney finished second in team scoring in 1952 and third in 1953.[1] In 1953, McKenney was named captain of the Flyers, and led them to their second and final Memorial Cup championship.[2]

McKenney made his professional debut with the Bruins' American Hockey League Hershey Bears farm team in the 1953–54 season. Injuries hampered his play that season, although he played well in the playoffs where the Bears made the Calder Cup finals, losing in six games to eventual champions Cleveland Barons.[3] A baseball prospect who attracted the interest of the Brooklyn Dodgers, McKenney mulled over signing with the Dodgers in the 1954 offseason but opted to continue his hockey career.[4]

Boston Bruins

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McKenney was promoted to the Bruins in 1954, and made an immediate impact; he led the team in scoring in 1954–55, finishing second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting for rookie-of-the-year behind Ed Litzenberger of Chicago.[5]

Over the next seven seasons, McKenney led Boston in scoring three more times (and never finished lower than third in team scoring), while his clean, elegant style—and skill as a defensive forward and penalty killer—gained recognition.[6] He finished in the top four in league voting for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (awarded for sportsmanship combined with a high level of performance) six straight seasons between 1957 and 1962, won the award in 1960, and was named to play in the All-Star Game in each of those seasons.[7] 1959–60 proved to be McKenney's best season; in addition to the Lady Byng win, he led the league in assists, finished 8th in NHL scoring, and was voted to the Third All-Star Team.[8]

1960 was also the start of the worst stretch in Bruins' history, when the team would miss the playoffs seven seasons in a row, the longest such stretch in NHL history before the 1967 NHL Expansion. While McKenney was named team captain in 1961 after long-time captain Fern Flaman was named as player-coach of the AHL Providence Reds,[9] he was traded to the New York Rangers two seasons later.[7]

Later career

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By then in decline as a point scorer, he was dealt the season following to the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he was briefly rejuvenated, scoring a point per game for Toronto in 1964 in both the regular season and playoffs en route to the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup (McKenney's sole NHL championship), his decline continued the next season, and the Leafs sent McKenney down to their Rochester Americans minor league team. Following that season, Toronto released him outright, and he was claimed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings. McKenney played only sporadically for the Red Wings, spending most of his time in the 1965–66 and 1966–67 seasons with their Pittsburgh Hornets AHL affiliate.

When the NHL expanded in 1967, McKenney was drafted in the 9th round of the expansion draft by the St. Louis Blues,[10] a team that focused on drafting veteran players. He played effectively for the Blues, scoring 29 points in 39 games, before a knee injury caused management to send him down to the minors to rehab; it would prove to be his final NHL action.[11]

Hired as a player-assistant coach by the Providence Reds, McKenney led Providence in scoring in 1968–69, and retired after the 1969–70 season.

Coaching career

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In 1970, his playing career over, McKenney joined longtime Bruins teammate Fern Flaman on the coaching staff of the Northeastern University Huskies men's hockey team. Don McKenney served nearly two decades as assistant coach and head recruiter. Don McKenney assumed head coaching duties in 1989. Upon retirement in 1991, Northeastern honoured his career with the creation of the Don McKenney Coach's Award, presented in appreciation for dedication, loyalty and friendship to the Northeastern University hockey program. McKenney was inducted in the Northeastern Hall of Fame in 1999. He concluded his active life in hockey as a part-time scout for the NHL Colorado Avalanche.

Personal life and death

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In the spring of 1958, McKenney married fellow Smiths Falls, Ontario native and Ottawa schoolteacher, Margaret Gendron. The couple settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, where they raised three Northeastern graduates, daughters Valerie and Deborah and son Scot, who played for the Huskies men's hockey team in the early 1980s.

McKenney died on December 19, 2022, at the age of 88.[12]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1950–51 Barrie Flyers OHA 4 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
1951–52 Barrie Flyers OHA 52 32 39 71 24 — — — — —
1952–53 Barrie Flyers OHA 50 33 33 66 24 15 6 8 14 2
1952–53 Barrie Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 10 9 12 21 4
1953–54 Hershey Bears AHL 54 13 21 34 4 11 3 5 8 4
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 69 22 20 42 34 5 1 2 3 4
1955–56 Boston Bruins NHL 65 10 24 34 20 — — — — —
1956–57 Boston Bruins NHL 69 21 39 60 31 10 1 5 6 4
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 70 28 30 58 22 12 9 8 17 0
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 70 32 30 62 20 7 2 5 7 0
1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 70 20 49 69 28 — — — — —
1960–61 Boston Bruins NHL 68 26 23 49 22 — — — — —
1961–62 Boston Bruins NHL 70 22 33 55 10 — — — — —
1962–63 Boston Bruins NHL 41 14 19 33 2 — — — — —
1962–63 New York Rangers NHL 21 8 16 24 4 — — — — —
1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 55 9 17 26 6 — — — — —
1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 15 9 6 15 2 12 4 8 12 0
1964–65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 6 13 19 6 6 0 0 0 0
1964–65 Rochester Americans AHL 18 7 9 16 4 — — — — —
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 24 1 6 7 0 — — — — —
1965–66 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 37 11 19 30 8 3 0 1 1 0
1966–67 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 67 26 36 62 16 9 2 7 9 2
1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 39 9 20 29 4 6 1 1 2 2
1967–68 Kansas City Blues CPHL 11 9 6 15 5 1 0 0 0 0
1968–69 Providence Reds AHL 74 26 48 74 12 9 4 7 11 0
1969–70 Providence Reds AHL 31 3 12 15 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 798 237 345 582 211 58 18 29 47 10

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Northeastern Huskies (Hockey East) (1989–1991)
1989–90 Northeastern 16–19–2 9–10–2 t-5th Hockey East Quarterfinals
1990–91 Northeastern 8–25–2 3–16–2 8th Hockey East Semifinals
Northeastern: 24–44–4 12–26–4
Total: 24–44–4

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes

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  1. ^ "1952-53 Barrie Flyers roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Superior Barrie Crew Takes Title". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. May 7, 1953.
  3. ^ "1953-54 Hershey Bears roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Bruins Star McKenney Outlines Hockey Career". Ottawa Journal. Ottawa, ON. May 28, 1957. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ^ "1954-55 NHL Awards Voting". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. ^ Coleman, Charles L. (1976). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol. III. Sherbrooke, PQ: Progressive Publications Ltd. p. 730.
  7. ^ a b "Don McKenney". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  8. ^ "1959-60 NHL Season Leaders". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Don McKenney Names As Captain Of Bruins". Bridgeport Telegram. Bridgeport, CT. October 10, 1962. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  10. ^ "1967 NHL Expansion Draft player stats". The Internet Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  11. ^ Mackey, Dick (March 21, 1968). "Blues' Don McKenney Forges Line". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, MO. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  12. ^ Russo, Eric (20 December 2022). "Former Bruins Captain Don McKenney Passes Away at 88". NHL. Retrieved 21 December 2022.


[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1960 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Boston Bruins captain
1961–63 		Succeeded by
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