Donald Martin "Smokey" McLeod (August 24, 1946 – March 11, 2015) was a Canadian 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 hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played briefly 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 ...

and six full seasons in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

between 1970 and 1978.

Playing career

McLeod's professional career began with several teams in the minor

Central Professional Hockey League The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the Natio ...

and

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, before being called up for two stints in the NHL, totaling 18 games, with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

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 Wells ...

over the 1970–71 and 1971–72 seasons. With the formation of the WHA in 1972, McLeod was signed by the Houston Aeros, where he played two seasons. The 1973-74 season was his finest year. He was the second winner of the

Ben Hatskin Trophy The Ben Hatskin Trophy was presented annually to the World Hockey Association's best goaltender. It was named in honour of Ben Hatskin, who founded the Winnipeg Jets. Ben Hatskin Trophy winners were: *1973 – Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland Cru ...

as the WHA's top goalie and was named to the First All-Star team. To top off his best professional season, the Aeros won the Avco Trophy as WHA playoff champions. McLeod was also chosen to represent Canada in the

1974 Summit Series The 1974 Summit Series was the second of two competitions between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players, following the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the ...

against the Soviet Union in September 1974. For the 1974–75 season, McLeod signed with the

Vancouver Blazers The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hocke ...

where he appeared in a league record 72 games. McLeod followed the franchise to Calgary and for the next two seasons was the

Calgary Cowboys The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, t ...

main goalie. When that franchise folded in 1977, McLeod was drafted by the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

, where he played in only 7 games before being dealt to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

where he finished out the 1977–78 season and his professional career. McLeod was the holder of numerous WHA career, season and playoff goaltending records. He died in 2015, aged 68.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1946 births 2015 deaths Baltimore Clippers players Calgary Cowboys players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Fort Worth Wings players Houston Aeros (WHA) players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Muskegon Zephyrs players Philadelphia Flyers players Providence Reds players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players Richmond Robins players Springfield Kings players Sportspeople from Trail, British Columbia Vancouver Blazers players {{Canada-icehockey-goaltender-stub