Duncan MacPherson
Encyclopedia
Duncan MacPherson was a professional ice hockey
player who died under mysterious circumstances. He was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A standout defensive defenceman for the Saskatoon Blades
of the Western Hockey League
, MacPherson was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft
by the New York Islanders
. He played minor league hockey for the Springfield Indians
of the American Hockey League
and the Indianapolis Ice
of the International Hockey League.
, Scotland
, commencing in August 1989, though he did have a bad feeling in his gut about the entrepreneur Ron Dixon who was backing the Scottish team. He went to central Europe alone in early August 1989, the plan being to visit old friends and see the sights before going on to Scotland.
He was scheduled to arrive in Dundee on August 12. When he did not show up, his family went to look for him. A car he had borrowed from a friend was discovered six weeks later in the parking lot of the Stubaier Gletscher resort in the Stubai Alps
in Austria, where he had rented a snowboard. His last known contact was with an employee of the ski resort on August 9, who reported that he spoke with MacPherson, and last saw MacPherson departing alone to perhaps squeeze in some final snowboarding and hiking before nightfall.
Adding drama to the mystery was the fact that MacPherson claimed he had been contacted by the CIA, and that they were interested in recruiting him as a spy. The story was never confirmed.
Almost 14 years after MacPherson disappeared, an employee of the Stubai Glacier Resort discovered a glove sticking out of the ice of a melting alpine glacier, right in the middle of the ski run, where MacPherson's body had lain frozen.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who died under mysterious circumstances. He was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A standout defensive defenceman for the Saskatoon Blades
Saskatoon Blades
The Saskatoon Blades are a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League. They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195 seat Credit Union Centre.-History:...
of the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
, MacPherson was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft
1984 NHL Entry Draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.The 1984 Entry Draft was noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower rounds. In addition to Mario Lemieux being taken first overall, Patrick Roy was chosen...
by the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. He played minor league hockey for the Springfield Indians
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
and the Indianapolis Ice
Indianapolis Ice
The Indianapolis Ice is the name of a former hockey team in Indianapolis, Indiana, that played in the International Hockey League from 1988–99 and in the Central Hockey League from 1999–2004. Their original home arena was the Indiana State Fairgrounds Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds...
of the International Hockey League.
Disappearance
In the summer of 1989 he went to Europe. The New York Islanders had a couple of months earlier bought out and released the often injured MacPherson. He never made it to the big club. MacPherson had intentions of taking a job as a player-coach for a semi-pro hockey team in DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, commencing in August 1989, though he did have a bad feeling in his gut about the entrepreneur Ron Dixon who was backing the Scottish team. He went to central Europe alone in early August 1989, the plan being to visit old friends and see the sights before going on to Scotland.
He was scheduled to arrive in Dundee on August 12. When he did not show up, his family went to look for him. A car he had borrowed from a friend was discovered six weeks later in the parking lot of the Stubaier Gletscher resort in the Stubai Alps
Stubai Alps
The Stubai Alps is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps of Europe. It is named after the Stubaital valley to its east. It is located southwest of Innsbruck, Austria, and several summits of the range form part of Austria's border with Italy...
in Austria, where he had rented a snowboard. His last known contact was with an employee of the ski resort on August 9, who reported that he spoke with MacPherson, and last saw MacPherson departing alone to perhaps squeeze in some final snowboarding and hiking before nightfall.
Adding drama to the mystery was the fact that MacPherson claimed he had been contacted by the CIA, and that they were interested in recruiting him as a spy. The story was never confirmed.
Almost 14 years after MacPherson disappeared, an employee of the Stubai Glacier Resort discovered a glove sticking out of the ice of a melting alpine glacier, right in the middle of the ski run, where MacPherson's body had lain frozen.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | Saskatoon Blades Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League. They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195 seat Credit Union Centre.-History:... |
WHL Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada... |
5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1983–84 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 45 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 69 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 116 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1985–86 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 70 | 10 | 54 | 64 | 147 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 38 | ||
| 1986–87 1986–87 AHL season The 1986–87 AHL season was the 51st season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league institutes awarding one point in the standings, for an overtime loss... |
Springfield Indians Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 1987–88 AHL season The 1987–88 AHL season was the 52nd season of the American Hockey League. Fourteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league abandoned shootout, but continues to award points for an overtime loss... |
Springfield Indians | AHL | 74 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 213 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 1988–89 AHL season The 1988–89 AHL season was the 53rd season of the American Hockey League. Fourteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league abandoned awarding points for an overtime loss. The Sherbrooke Canadiens finished first overall in the regular season... |
Springfield Indians | AHL | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Indianapolis Ice Indianapolis Ice The Indianapolis Ice is the name of a former hockey team in Indianapolis, Indiana, that played in the International Hockey League from 1988–99 and in the Central Hockey League from 1999–2004. Their original home arena was the Indiana State Fairgrounds Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds... |
IHL | 33 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHL totals | 189 | 21 | 98 | 119 | 353 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 42 | ||||
| AHL totals | 124 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 368 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
External links
- Story of his disappearance
- Story written in German for an Austrian Magazine
- Find-a-Grave Entry
- A documentary produced for the fifth estateThe fifth estatethe fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
by the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. - An update to the 2006 CBC story above by the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. - Article from Esquire magazine, published in 2004.
- Detailed chronology of events
- Detailed timeline with photos from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- Book by John Leake, published in 2011.