Stan Jonathan

Stanley Carl "Bulldog" Jonathan (born September 5, 1955) is a Haudenosaunee former professional ice hockey left winger. He is best known for playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom he played for parts of eight seasons, and featured in two Stanley Cup Finals (1977, 1978). He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1982-83.

Playing career Stan Jonathan was drafted in the fifth round (86th overall) of the 1975 NHL entry draft by the Bruins. Ignored by most other scouts and by Bruins general manager Harry Sinden, Jonathan was picked up thanks to the shrewdness of Don Cherry, who had seen him play with the Peterborough Petes earlier that season, Jonathan's third season in Peterborough. Cherry stated later that the proudest discovery of his hockey career was Stan Jonathan.

Jonathan started his NHL career with one game in the 1975–76 NHL season, before being called up permanently for the 1976–77 season. He typified Bruins hockey, displaying both outstanding offensive ability and toughness. Jonathan was adept at knocking in rebounds, and Cherry, his coach at the time, stated that he had the most accurate shot in the league. As a rookie, he led all NHL players in shooting percentage, putting goals in at a clip of 23.9%. was his savage beating of Pierre Bouchard in a brawl during game four of the 1978 Stanley Cup Finals. Challenged by Bouchard, who outweighed Jonathan by thirty pounds and stood six inches taller, Jonathan held his own, breaking Bouchard's nose and cheekbone and knocking him to the ice. He returned the following year and scored 21 goals and 19 assists. He also added 208 penalty minutes. born in Ohsweken, Ontario, part of the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. After his playing days were over, Jonathan stayed in the Boston area with his wife Cathy and two children Carl and Brandi. After twenty years, the family moved to Six Nations and built a house. Jonathan worked in construction, coaching, running a tent-rental business, and driving a snow plow.

Jonathan was charged with criminal negligence in a hunting accident on the Six Nations reserve that killed Peter Kosid of Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday, November 11, 2012. Kosid was illegally bow hunting on the reserve without permission and without proper reflective hunting gear. The criminal charges were later withdrawn. After first filing a lawsuit against Jonathan, Kosid's family later settled with Jonathan's insurance company.

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

Peterborough sports writer Don Barrie wrote in 2021 that Jonathan was one of the Petes' "all-time fan favourites".

Jonathan has been an inspiration to other Indigenous hockey players, including Gino Odjick.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1972–73 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 63 14 35 49 107 — — — — — 1973–74 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 70 19 33 52 127 11 4 5 9 14 1974–75 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 70 36 39 75 138 11 4 5 9 14 1975–76 Rochester Americans AHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1975–76 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1975–76 Dayton Gems IHL 69 26 47 73 192 15 13 8 21 54 1976–77 Rochester Americans AHL 3 0 0 0 7 — — — — — 1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 69 17 13 30 69 14 4 2 6 24 1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 68 27 25 52 116 15 0 1 1 36 1978–79 Boston Bruins NHL 33 6 9 15 96 11 4 1 5 12 1979–80 Boston Bruins NHL 79 21 19 40 208 9 0 0 0 29 1980–81 Boston Bruins NHL 74 14 24 38 192 3 0 0 0 30 1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 67 6 17 23 57 11 0 0 0 6 1982–83 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1982–83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 19 0 3 3 13 — — — — — 1982–83 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 48 13 23 36 86 — — — — — 1985–86 Brantford Motts Clamatos OHA-Sr. — — — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Brantford Motts Clamatos OHA-Sr. 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — NHL totals 411 91 110 201 751 63 8 4 12 137

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1974 Canada WJC 5 0 0 0 8 Junior totals 5 0 0 0 8