Don McKenney

Donald Hamilton McKenney (April 30, 1934 – December 19, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey forward and coach who played in the National Hockey League between 1954 and 1968. Over his NHL career he suited up for five teams, spending the bulk of it with the Boston Bruins.

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 sponsored by the Bruins and coached by future Bruins general manager Hap Emms. McKenney finished second in team scoring in 1952 and third in 1953. In 1953 he was named captain of the Flyers and led them to their second and final Memorial Cup championship.

McKenney made his professional debut with the Bruins' American Hockey League farm team, the Hershey Bears, in the 1953–54 season. Injuries hampered his play that year, though he performed well in the playoffs, where the Bears reached the Calder Cup finals before losing in six games to the eventual champion Cleveland Barons. A baseball prospect, McKenney also drew the interest of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

After retiring as a player, McKenney worked as a coach at Northeastern University for over twenty years.