Errol Thompson

Loran Errol Thompson, born May 28, 1950, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who spent most of his National Hockey League career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He first drew attention with the Halifax Jr. Canadians of the NSJHL, scoring 81 points in only 45 games during the 1967–68 season and establishing himself as a scoring winger. In 1969 he was playing senior hockey for the Charlottetown Royals in the Southern New Brunswick Senior Hockey League for $15 a game when Toronto scout Johnny Bower spotted him. The Maple Leafs selected Thompson 2nd, 22nd overall, in the 1970 Amateur Draft. He made his NHL debut in 1970, appearing in a single game, and spent the remainder of that season and the next with Toronto's minor league affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. In 1972 he was called up to Toronto full-time, where his speed and scoring touch quickly earned him a regular role. Thompson later served as captain of the Detroit Red Wings.