Blair MacDonald
| Blair MacDonald | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
November 17, 1953 Cornwall, ON, CAN |
||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks Indianapolis Racers (WHA) |
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| NHL Draft | 86th overall, 1973 Los Angeles Kings |
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| WHA Draft | 30th overall, 1973 Alberta Oilers |
||
| Playing career | 1973–1983 | ||
Blair Neil Joseph "B. J." MacDonald (born November 17, 1953 in Cornwall, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1983. He is best known for his time with the Edmonton Oilers, the club where he spent the majority of his career and where he served as one of Wayne Gretzky's first linemates at the start of Gretzky's NHL career.
After a stellar final year of junior hockey with the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL in which he scored 63 goals in 64 games, MacDonald was selected 86th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. However, he was also selected 30th overall by the Edmonton Oilers of the rival World Hockey Association in their draft, and chose to forego the NHL to sign in Edmonton.
MacDonald had a solid rookie professional season in 1973–74, finishing the year with 21 goals and 45 points in 78 games, and posted nearly identical numbers 1974–75 with 22 goals and 46 points. After a sluggish start to the 1975–76 campaign, he was dealt to the Indianapolis Racers, where he rediscovered his scoring touch and finished the year with a career-high 26 goals. In 1976–77, he blossomed into a top player for the Racers, leading the team with 34 goals and finishing with 64 points. He then added 15 points in nine games in the playoffs.
For 1977–78, MacDonald was traded back to the Oilers, where he enjoyed another fine season with 34 goals and 68 points. Just after the start of the 1978–79 season, Edmonton traded for 17-year-old wunderkind Wayne Gretzky, who dominated the sport for the next two decades. As the Oilers' top right winger and a natural sniper, MacDonald became one of Gretzky's regular wingers, along with Brett Callighen, and finished the year with 34 goals and a career-high 71 points.
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