Colin J. McDonald (born September 30, 1984) is an American 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 ...

player. He last played for the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

of the

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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). He was selected by 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 ...

in the second round, 51st overall, of the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This wa ...

. He played only two games with the team before signing with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

for the 2011–12 season. His time with the Penguins was also short-lived, as he proceeded to sign with the Islanders the following season. He is the son of

Gerry McDonald Girard "Gerry" McDonald (born March 18, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played eight games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers between 1981 and 1984. He grew up on Elmlawn Road in Braintree, ...

, a former NHL player, who played for the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

. On February 28, 2021, McDonald announced his retirement from playing hockey at the age of 36.

Playing career

Amateur career

McDonald began his career playing for the New England Junior Coyotes of the

Eastern Junior Hockey League The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for th ...

(EJHL) during the 2002–03 season, where he led the league in scoring with 58 points (28 goals, 30 assists) and was named "Junior Coyote of the Year", and received the "EJHL Offensive Player of the Year Award" and League MVP. He was selected MVP of the Top Prospects Tournament in 2002, as well as "Hockey Night In Boston Junior Player of the Year". He was also chosen to the U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in August 2003. After being selected 51st overall 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 ...

's (NHL) 2003 draft by the

, McDonald spent four seasons with Providence College. During his freshman year (2003–04), McDonald led Providence Friar freshmen with 10 goals. His performance earned him Providence's "Most Valuable Freshman" Award as well as a selection to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. As a sophomore, McDonald missed time due to injury but still managed to match his point total from freshman year as he tallied up 11 goals and added 5 assists. As a junior, he served as an alternate captain and reached career highs in points (28) and assists (19), finishing fourth on his team in scoring. He was then named co-captain for the 2006-07 season at the end of the year. In his senior year he had a career high of 13 goals, along with 4 assists, totaling 17 points.

Professional career

McDonald joined the

organization in 2007 and was assigned to their minor league affiliate, the

's (AHL) Springfield Falcons. He played 73 games in his first season, scoring 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. The following season, McDonald played 77 games, scoring 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points and also played 3 games in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

for the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yo ...

. He was first called up to the Oilers on November 26, 2009. He played in his first career NHL game the next night against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. His first NHL goal came in his second game on November 28, 2009 against

Roberto Luongo Roberto Luongo (, , ; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is a two ...

of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

On July 1, 2011, McDonald was signed by the

to a one-year, $525,000 contract. In the 2011–12 season, he was primarily assigned to the Penguins' AHL affiliate, the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

, but was recalled to play in five games with the Penguins. On July 2, 2012, McDonald signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. During the season, on March 15, 2013, he agreed to a two-year, one-way contract extension. He played most of the season on a line with Matt Martin and

Casey Cizikas Casey Cizikas (born February 27, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent four seasons with the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OH ...

. In the 2013 playoffs against his former Penguins team, he played on a line with

Michael Grabner Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 17 and ...

and Keith Aucoin, scoring two goals and one assist as the Islanders were defeated in six games. Early on in the 2014–15 season, on October 22, 2014, McDonald was placed on waivers; upon clearing he was assigned to the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the

, where he was named captain. On July 3, 2015, having left the Islanders as a free agent, McDonald signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. On June 19, 2018, McDonald signed a one-year AHL contract to remain with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey L ...

As a free agent from the Phantoms, McDonald opted to return to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, signing a one-year AHL contract with the team on August 29, 2019. On February 28, 2021, McDonald announced his retirement from playing hockey on his Instagram and currently works with Recorded Future in cybersecurity.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Colin 1984 births Living people American men's ice hockey right wingers Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey players from Connecticut Lehigh Valley Phantoms players New York Islanders players Oklahoma City Barons players People from Wethersfield, Connecticut Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players Springfield Falcons players Stockton Thunder players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players