Tony McKegney
Encyclopedia
Anthony Syiid McKegney (born February 15, 1958) is a retired Canadian
professional ice hockey
player, who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League
from 1978–79 until 1990–91.
in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft
. McKegney was the first Black Canadian
hockey player to make an impact in the NHL, and has often been referred to as the Jackie Robinson
of professional hockey.
McKegney was born in Montreal, but was adopted
soon thereafter, and raised by a white family in Sarnia, Ontario
. As a teenager he played Jr. 'B' hockey in Sarnia. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Ian, who had been a star with the Sarnia Legionnaires before moving on to the pros. At age twenty, Tony McKegney signed a contract with the now defunct World Hockey Association
’s (WHA) team in Birmingham, just to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster. However, the WHA’s loss became the NHL’s gain, as McKegney would go on to score over 300 career goals, including 40 in the 1987-88 season. His total of 78 points in the same season would remain the highest ever recorded by a black player until Jarome Iginla
’s breakout 2001-2002 campaign. He registered nine 20-goal seasons in a career that lasted over 900 games.
After finishing the 1990-91
with the Chicago Blackhawks, McKegney would spend a season in Italy
with AS Varese, as well as three games with the Canadian National Team. He would play 23 games with the San Diego Gulls
in 1992-93 before retiring.
McKegney currently does periodic work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional ice hockey
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 played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
from 1978–79 until 1990–91.
Career
McKegney was drafted 32nd overall by the Buffalo SabresBuffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft
1978 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft occurred at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Draft in 1979.-Selections by round:...
. McKegney was the first Black Canadian
Black Canadian
'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...
hockey player to make an impact in the NHL, and has often been referred to as the Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
of professional hockey.
McKegney was born in Montreal, but was adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
soon thereafter, and raised by a white family in Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
. As a teenager he played Jr. 'B' hockey in Sarnia. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Ian, who had been a star with the Sarnia Legionnaires before moving on to the pros. At age twenty, Tony McKegney signed a contract with the now defunct World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
’s (WHA) team in Birmingham, just to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster. However, the WHA’s loss became the NHL’s gain, as McKegney would go on to score over 300 career goals, including 40 in the 1987-88 season. His total of 78 points in the same season would remain the highest ever recorded by a black player until Jarome Iginla
Jarome Iginla
Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . A six-time NHL All-Star, he is the Flames' all-time leader in goals, points, and games played, and is second in assists to Al MacInnis...
’s breakout 2001-2002 campaign. He registered nine 20-goal seasons in a career that lasted over 900 games.
After finishing the 1990-91
1990-91 NHL season
-NHL Awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay goals, SHG = Shorthanded goals, GWG = Game winning goals-Leading goaltenders:...
with the Chicago Blackhawks, McKegney would spend a season in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with AS Varese, as well as three games with the Canadian National Team. He would play 23 games with the San Diego Gulls
San Diego Gulls (1990–1995)
The second San Diego Gulls team was founded in 1990 as part of the International Hockey League. The Gulls played at the Valley View Casino Center, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena....
in 1992-93 before retiring.
McKegney currently does periodic work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorming hockey team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former members of the Buffalo Sabres...
.
Achievements and awards
- OMJHL First All-Star Team (1977)
- OMJHL Second All-Star Team (1978)
Career statistics
| 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 | ||
| 1974–75 | Kingston Canadians Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.-History:... |
OMJHL | 52 | 27 | 48 | 75 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 65 | 24 | 56 | 80 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 66 | 58 | 77 | 135 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 55 | 43 | 49 | 92 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 1978–79 AHL season The 1978–79 AHL season was the 43rd season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurates the Ken McKenzie Award, for the most outstanding marketing executive, showing its commitment to marketing and public relations.... |
Hershey Bears Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of... |
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... |
24 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
NHL | 52 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 37 | 32 | 69 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1982–83 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 36 | 37 | 73 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1983–84 | Quebec Nordiques Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 75 | 24 | 27 | 51 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 30 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white... |
NHL | 27 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 70 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 48 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 22 | ||
| 1986–87 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Rangers New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the... |
NHL | 64 | 29 | 17 | 46 | 56 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1987–88 | St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
NHL | 80 | 40 | 38 | 78 | 82 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 1988–89 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 71 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 58 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York... |
NHL | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 48 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 50 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10... |
NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | San Diego Gulls San Diego Gulls (1990–1995) The second San Diego Gulls team was founded in 1990 as part of the International Hockey League. The Gulls played at the Valley View Casino Center, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena.... |
IHL | 23 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 912 | 320 | 319 | 639 | 517 | 79 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 56 | ||||