Gary Dineen

Daniel Gary Patrick Dineen (December 24, 1943 – April 1, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Dineen played five seasons with the Canadian national amateur team, including at the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics where he won a bronze medal at the latter, before joining the professional leagues in 1968. He played the bulk of his professional career in the minor leagues, and four games for the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1968–69 season. He later became a coach in the American Hockey League and junior ice hockey.

Hockey career

Dineen, a native of Montreal, played high school hockey at Loyola High school. He played junior ice hockey in the Toronto area from 1960 to 1964. He was a member of the 1961 Memorial Cup-winning Toronto St. Michael's Majors team and the 1964 Memorial Cup-winning Toronto Marlboros team. That year, he joined the new Canadian national ice hockey team. In all, he played in five seasons with the national team, along with one season with the University of British Columbia. Dineen played for Canada in the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games, and the 1965–1967 World Championships. The team won the bronze medal in the 1966 and 1967 World Championships and a bronze in the 1968 Olympics.

Dineen became a professional in 1968, signing with the Minnesota North Stars organization. In the 1968–69 season, Dineen made his only appearance in the NHL, with four games. He played the bulk of the season with their Memphis farm team. He played two more seasons of professional hockey before retiring after the Springfield Kings won the Calder Cup championship of the American Hockey League in 1970-71. The following season he would move into coaching with the Kings, and would go on to coach and GM the Kings and Springfield Indians for several years.

In 1972 he helped form the Springfield Olympics of the New England Junior Hockey League, where he coached the 'Pics to several Wallace Cups as league champions, and remained part of the franchise until his death. He helped develop several players who would go on to division 1 and 2 college hockey programs. He also had a few of his former players go on to successful careers in the NHL, including Bill Guerin. Dean Lombardi, current President and General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, also played for Dineen in the mid-late 1970s.

Dineen made West Springfield, Massachusetts his home with his wife and daughter for well over 30 years. His keen hockey intellect and coaching abilities made him a magnet for upper echelon junior players from New England, primarily Western Massachusetts/Northern Connecticut, who aspired to play college and professional hockey.

He was inducted to the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame, in addition to being honored with the USA Hockey Presidents Award and the American Hockey Coaches Association's "Snooks Kelley Award".

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1960–61 St. Michael's Buzzers MetJBHL 28 32 33 65 — — — — — — 1960–61 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA 12 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 1960–61 Toronto St. Michael's Majors M-Cup — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 1961–62 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA 33 26 35 61 19 11 7 11 18 0 1961–62 Toronto St. Michael's Majors M-Cup — — — — — 5 2 4 6 2 1962–63 Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons MTJAHL 38 32 63 95 33 10 12 18 30 0 1962–63 Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons M-Cup — — — — — 6 1 5 6 2 1963–64 Canadian National Team Intl — — — — — — — — — — 1963–64 Toronto Marlboros OHA 2 1 5 6 4 9 5 12 17 8 1963–64 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 10 10 10 20 0 1964–65 University of British Columbia WCIAA — — — — — — — — — — 1965–66 Canadian National Team Intl — — — — — — — — — — 1966–67 Canadian National Team Intl — — — — — — — — — — 1967–68 Ottawa Nationals OHA Sr 20 7 20 27 4 — — — — — 1968–69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1968–69 Memphis South Stars CHL 63 11 38 49 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Iowa Stars CHL 15 3 2 5 2 — — — — — 1969–70 Salt Lake Golden Eagles WHL 10 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Springfield Kings AHL 8 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1970–71 Springfield Kings AHL 56 12 22 34 28 12 4 7 11 6 NHL totals 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1964 Canada OLY 7 3 6 9 10 1965 Canada WC 7 6 5 11 4 1967 Canada WC 7 1 4 5 6 1968 Canada OLY 7 1 2 3 6 Senior totals 28 11 17 28 26