Don Marcotte

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/career Marcotte was born in Arthabaska, Quebec. His family were longtime residents of the area. At the age of three, Don first laced up his first pair of skates and by the age of six was enrolled in youth hockey in his community. In 1963, at the age of 16, Marcotte left the local youth programs for the Victoriaville Bruins of the QPJHL. After one season with Victoriaville the Boston Bruins signed him to continue his development with the B’s Junior “A” affiliate in Ontario, the Niagara Falls Flyers. He played junior league hockey for the Flyers in 1965, 1966, and 1967.

During the 1964-65 OHA season, Marcotte appeared in 56 games, tallying 51 points. In the postseason, he appeared in 24 games, scoring 16 goals and 11 assists, helping the team win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, George Richardson Memorial Trophy and Memorial Cup.

He made his NHL debut during the 1965-66 season appearing in one game for the Bruins, then making a handful of appearances for the CPHL Blazers and helping them win the league title. Marcotte then left the OHA for good after the 1966-67 season to join the Boston Bruins American Hockey League team in Hershey.

Career

Marcotte turned fully professional in the 1968 season with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League helping lead them to the Calder cup in 1969. After three starring seasons for the Bears, Marcotte was recalled by the Boston Bruins for the 1970 season

Marcotte became a defensive mainstay on Boston's checking line with Derek Sanderson and Ed Westfall. Marcotte scored his first NHL goal in a 3–1 Boston loss to the Montreal Canadiens on February 15, 1969, at the Montreal Forum. During the season, Marcotte scored the first of four career hat-tricks on February 8, 1970, in a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. With Boston, Marcotte reached the 1970 Stanley Cup Final where they ended their 29-year drought to win the championship.

He was capable of playing multiple forward positions along with being a forechecker for most of his career. Being a two-way defensive forward, he became noteworthy for his defense and penalty-killing, with a great ability to disrupt plays and win puck battles. 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. 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".

Marcotte played twelve more seasons in Boston. He remained a key contributor to Boston's Stanley Cup win in 1972. He also played in three more Stanley Cup Finals with Boston, in , , and . In both the 1977–78 and 1978-79 seasons, Marcotte finished in the top three of voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. During the 1978–79 NHL season, Marcotte was honoured when he was selected for the NHL All-Stars team for the 1979 Challenge Cup.

In his later years as a Bruin, Marcotte mentored Steve Kasper into a premier defensive forward.

In 2023, he was named one of the top 100 best Bruins players of all time.

Personal life Marcotte is married to his wife Helen, and they reside in Amesbury. The two have two daughters and one son. Even after retirement he has stayed a part of the Bruins organization, once serving as the manager of the Boston Garden Club at the TD Banknorth Garden. He is also a part of the alumni organization.

Marcotte's grandchildren Trey and Bodie have also developed into successful hockey players. Both have served as captains of the Amesbury high school hockey team, and Bodie was selected to the NCDC entry draft in 2025.

Awards and achievements Stanley Cup Championships (1970, 1972) Seventh Player Award — 1974 1979 NHL All star Memorial Cup (1965) Adam’s cup (1966) Calder cup (1969) Named One of the Top 100 Best Bruins Players of all Time

Career statistics 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