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Don Thompson (ice hockey)

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Don Thompson
Born (1949-02-04) February 4, 1949 (age 75)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Forward
Played for Michigan State
New Haven Nighthawks
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1969–1975

Donald Thompson is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward who was an All-American for Michigan State.[1]

Career

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Thompson briefly played for the Niagara Falls Flyers in 1968–69 but soon left the team so he could register as a freshman at Michigan State University. In doing so, he would be able to count the year as his freshman season and begin to play as a sophomore on the varsity squad in 1970. Shortly after Thompson joined Michigan State, the NCAA changed its long-standing police to limit student athletes to three seasons of varsity play. Beginning with the 1969–70 season, all incoming players had four years of eligibility. As a consequence, when Thompson was named as the WCHA Sophomore of the Year for 1970, he was the final player to receive that award.

Despite the lost season, Thompson became a standout player for the Spartans in the early-1970s. He led the team in scoring in each of his three seasons with the club and was named an All-American in 1971.[2] As a senior, he finished sixth in the nation in scoring. When Thompson graduated he was the Sparta's all-time leading scorer, however, nearly all of his records were surpassed due to the deluge of scoring that occurred in the mid-1970s.[3]

After college, Thompson played senior hockey briefly before becoming a beneficiary of the rapid expansion of professional hockey. Due to both the NHL's and WHA's demand for players, Thompson was able to sign a professional contract with the New Haven Nighthawks. He played parts of two seasons with the team, providing depth scoring and helping them reach the second round in 1974.

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
1966–67 Etobicoke Indians MJBHL
1968–69 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 5 2 3 5 0
1969–70 Michigan State WCHA 24 14 18 32 24
1970–71 Michigan State WCHA 31 19 38 57 35
1971–72 Michigan State WCHA 35 32 35 67 66
1972–73 Clinton Comets EHL 5 2 3 5 2
1972–73 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 33 2 12 14 8
1973–74 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 61 9 17 26 14 10 4 1 5 2
1974–75 Peoria Blades CnHL 0 4 4 2
NCAA Totals 90 65 91 156 125
AHL Totals 94 11 29 40 22 10 4 1 5 2

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1970–71 [4]
AHCA West All-American 1970–71 [1]
All-WCHA Second Team 1971–72 [4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1970-1971 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ Seibold, Jack (2003). Spartan Sports Encyclopedia: A History of the Michigan State Men's Athletic Program. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-58261-219-5.
  3. ^ "Michigan State hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State Spartans. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Sophomore of the Year
1969–70
Succeeded by
Award Discontinued