Fleming David Mackell (April 30, 1929 – October 19, 2015) was a Canadian

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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played with two Stanley Cup winners in his 13-season

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 ...

career.

Playing career

After a stage with St-Michaels, the Toronto Maple Leafs OHA affiliate, Mackell began his NHL career with the

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 ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. The majority of it was spent with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, with whom he would retire following the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

season. Mackell won

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s with the Maple Leafs in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. After his second Stanley Cup success, Mackell was traded by Toronto to the

in return for young defenceman

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

. In Boston, he attained NHL First All Star Team status for the 1952–53 season, at the position of center, playing on a line composed of

Ed Sanford The Sanford-Townsend Band was a rock and roll band that scored a hit single in 1977 with " Smoke from a Distant Fire". History The Sanford-Townsend Band featured keyboardists Ed Sanford (from Montgomery, Alabama) and Johnny Townsend (from Tus ...

and

Johnny Peirson John Frederick Peirson (July 21, 1925April 16, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins from 1946 to 1958. After retiring he became a commentator for t ...

. Mackell also won the Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy in 1953, awarded annually to the outstanding Bruins player on Boston Gardens home ice. He was named an alternate captain of the Boston Bruins in 1955. Flem Mackell became a mainstay and catalyst of Boston's strong and prolific offense of the late 1950s. In 1956–57, Mackell centered a line composed of veteran iron man

Cal Gardner Calvin Pearly "Ginger, Red, Torchy" Gardner (October 30, 1924 – October 10, 2001) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the NHL. In 1943, after playing professional hockey for three years and winning the Memorial Cup, he joined the Ca ...

and Rookie Of the year, Calder trophy winner

Larry Regan Lawrence Emmett Regan (August 9, 1930 – March 9, 2009), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and hockey executive. He played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs after a long senior-hockey career, winning the Allan Cup in 1948. ...

. Along with later Bruins linemate,

Don McKenney Donald Hamilton McKenney (April 30, 1934 – December 19, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey forward and coach. He played in the National Hockey League between 1954 and 1968 with five teams, mostly with the Boston Bruins. After retiring he worked a ...

, Mackell led all scorers during the 1957-58

playoffs. In the spring of 1959, Fleming Mackell led the Boston Bruins against 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 ...

on an exhibition tour of Europe. A rugged, hard charging playmaker with a razor sharp skating style, he was a side of the net scoring specialist. The versatile Mackell frequently played at left wing, principally with Don McKenney and

Jerry Toppazzini Jerry "Topper" Toppazzini (July 29, 1931 — April 21, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Boston Bruins, between 1952 and 1964. A skilled defensive specialist and ...

, a trio whose production matched the output of the vaunted UKE Line, along with his regular position at centre. Mackell often assumed a defensive checking role, he was the catalyst of the short-lived Hustle line in 1959–60. Upon his retirement from the Boston Bruins and the NHL at the conclusion of the 1959–60 season, MacKell briefly became Player/Coach for the

Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. History The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces stan ...

of the AHL in 1960–61. He approached the Detroit Red Wings for a tryout in September 1961 and appeared in some exhibition games, but did not make the club. Mackell is the son of former NHL player Jack Mackell of the original

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. His daughter JoAnne is an established country rock singer based in Toronto . Mackell died on October 19, 2015.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Fleming Mackell's Day with the Stanley Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackell, Fleming 1929 births 2015 deaths Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey centres Ice hockey people from Montreal Pittsburgh Hornets players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players