Donald Harold Luce (born October 2, 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, executive and scout. Luce played 13 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, Detroit Red Wings,

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

from 1969 to 1982. After his playing career, Luce moved into a long career in player development for the Sabres and the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

. He is currently working as a pro scout for the

Playing career

Luce was drafted by the

and played three seasons (1965–68) for their farm team; the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

. He then played one and a half seasons with another Rangers farm team, the

Omaha Knights The Omaha Knights was the name of three minor league professional ice hockey teams from 1959 to 1965 and from 1966 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the International Hoc ...

, before being brought up to the NHL team for the last 12 games of 1969–70. Luce scored his first NHL goal on March 15, 1970 in his team's 4-2 home loss to the Minnesota North Stars. It was his only goal as a New York Ranger. During the 1970–1971 season he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, where he played 58 games before being dealt again, this time to the

, for whom he then played until 1981. Luce was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded to the NHL player annually who best demonstrates the qualities of perseverance, leadership and dedication to the sport of hockey, for the 1974-75 season. In the middle of the 1980–81 season he was traded to the

, and finished his career the following season with the

. Luce was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1986 and also served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres in 1986–87. He served as the Sabres' Head of Player development from the end of his term as assistant coach until July 2006, when the team let him go and cut much of its scouting department. Luce had been responsible for bringing in the likes of

Alexander Mogilny Alexander Gennadevich Mogilny (russian: Александр Геннадиевич Могильный; born February 18, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current president of Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hoc ...

Maxim Afinogenov Maxim Sergeyevich Afinogenov (, ; born September 4, 1979) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. Known for his skating speed, he was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Buffalo Sabres in the third round, 69th overall, in ...

Martin Biron Martin Gaston Biron (; born August 15, 1977) is a Canadian American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round (16th overall) of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the first half of his 16-year ...

, Brian Campbell, and

Jason Pominville Jason John Pominville (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian- American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur As a youth, ...

. He is remembered among Sabres fans fondly for his work ethic on the ice, his abilities on the penalty kill, his work in the team's front office, and in the community where he and his wife Diane continue to act charitably even though they are no longer affiliated with the Sabres. Luce played 894 career NHL games, scoring 225 goals and 329 assists for 554 points. His best statistical season was the 1974–75 season with the Buffalo Sabres, when he set career highs in goals (33), points (76), shorthanded goals (8), and plus minus with a +61 rating. Luce was appointed Director of Player Development for the

on December 1, 2006 and served in that position through the season. On September 20, 2015, it was announced that Luce had been hired as a professional scout for the

Personal life

Luce's grandson Griffin played NCAA Division 1 hockey for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Don 1948 births Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners Buffalo Sabres executives Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey centres Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kitchener Rangers players Living people Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League executives New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Omaha Knights (CHL) players Philadelphia Flyers executives Philadelphia Flyers scouts Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players Sportspeople from London, Ontario Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States