Walter Thomas John McKechnie is a Canadian former professional hockey centre. He played for nine teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) and four minor professional teams over a 17-year pro career. Being drafted sixth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1963 NHL amateur draft, he is the franchise's first ever draft pick.
Brian Edward Bellows is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Washington Capitals. He was a member of the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens.
Maurice William Mantha Jr. is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers.
Michael Alfred Gartner is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes. He also played one season in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Cincinnati Stingers. He was a two-time Canada Cup champion with Team Canada.
Douglas McArthur Jarvis is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers in the National Hockey League. He was a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Canadiens.
Robert David Smith is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Smith was the majority owner of the Halifax Mooseheads junior hockey team for twenty years until February 2023. He played for the Minnesota North Stars and Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in four Stanley Cup Finals and won the 1986 Stanley Cup with the Canadiens. Smith was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, but grew up in Ottawa, Ontario.
Neal LaMoy Broten is an American former professional ice hockey player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 having appeared in 1,099 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games from 1981 to 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings. He is the older brother of Aaron and Paul Broten.
The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two "Original Six" teams would not meet again in the Finals for the next 34 years, when Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Finals. The Bruins faced the Canadiens in the 1979 semifinals, marking the last appearance by three Original Six teams in the final four for the next 35 years, when the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Rangers reached the semifinals of the 2014 playoffs.
Willi Plett is a Paraguayan-born Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 834 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars and Boston Bruins. He reached the 1981 NHL playoff semifinals with the Flames and the 1984 NHL playoff semifinals with the North Stars.
Dennis John Maruk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975 to 1989, scoring a career-high 60 goals for the Washington Capitals in 1981–82. Maruk is of Ukrainian descent.
The 1979 NHL entry draft was the 17th NHL entry draft. It took place on August 9, 1979, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 126 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1978–79 NHL season and playoff standings. The draft was the first to be conducted after the NHL-WHA merger, which had included its own 1979 NHL expansion draft, held on June 13, 1979. As part of the terms of the merger, the four former WHA teams had joined the NHL on the condition that they be placed at the bottom of the entry draft order, as opposed to the top of the order as is usually the case for expansion teams.
Ernest Charles Arnason is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing who played 401 games over eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Kansas City Scouts, Cleveland Barons, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota North Stars and Washington Capitals. He was the first player in NHL history to play for five defunct teams.
The 1978 NHL amateur draft was the 16th NHL entry draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "amateur draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL entry draft in 1979.
Bryan Joseph Watson was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and Washington Capitals from 1963 to 1979, and briefly in the World Hockey Association with the Cincinnati Stingers. He later served as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers during the 1980–81 NHL season.
Benoît Jacques Joseph Gratton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently the head coach for Jonquière Marquis of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).
Reginald Alan MacAdam is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1973 and 1985, and was twice selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. He is best known for his time with the Minnesota North Stars, where he was one of the franchise's top players in the early 1980s. Most recently MacAdam has served as a scout for the Buffalo Sabres.
Gilles Emile Meloche is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, scout and former player. Meloche played as a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. He is currently a special assignment scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Until 2013 he was the team's longtime goaltending coach, during which time the team won three Stanley Cups. Meloche was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Bryan Clifford Maxwell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 331 games in the National Hockey League and 124 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinnati Stingers, New England Whalers, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jean-Paul Joseph-Louis Parisé was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and player. Parisé played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Minnesota North Stars and the New York Islanders.
The 1978 NHL dispersal draft was held on June 15, 1978. It was the result of the merger of two National Hockey League (NHL) teams, the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars. The NHL granted majority ownership of the North Stars to Barons owners Gordon Gund and George Gund III, after their bid to buy the Barons' home arena failed, and as the League feared the ownership group of the North Stars, another team performing poorly amid waning fan interest, would cease that team’s operations. To prevent the North Stars from folding, the NHL allowed the Gunds to merge them with the Barons; the Gunds would be majority owners of Minnesota North Stars.
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