Donald MacLean (ice hockey)

Playing career

Donald MacLean got his start in youth hockey at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments in 1990 and 1991, skating for a minor team out of Bedford, Nova Scotia. The Los Angeles Kings picked him 33rd overall in the 1995 NHL entry draft. He then spent three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. During his second year, he put up 89 points in 61 games while bouncing between three clubs: the Beauport Harfangs, Laval Titan Collège Français, and Hull Olympiques. MacLean made his NHL debut with the Kings in the 1997–98 season, appearing in 22 games and recording five goals and two assists.

On February 23, 2000, the Kings traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Craig Charron. Most of his time under that contract was spent in the minors with the St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League. After leading the AHL in scoring for the 2001–02 season, he finally got his first taste of NHL playoff action with Toronto, playing three games. On July 17, 2002, he signed as a free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but only suited up for four regular-season games.

On August 24, 2005, the Detroit Red Wings signed him. In his very first game with the team, MacLean scored the opening goal against the Edmonton Oilers on a power play, with an assist from Niklas Kronwall. The Red Wings went on to shut out the Oilers, and MacLean was credited with the game-winner. While playing for Detroit's AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, he strung together a 19-game point streak from January 6 to February 18, 2006—the longest such streak in the AHL that season. That same year, he notched five hat tricks, more than any other AHL player since 2000. He also represented the Canadian team at the 2006 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic alongside fellow Griffins Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula, scoring two goals in the game and winning the Hardest Shot event in the skills competition. MacLean wrapped up the season as the league's MVP and top goal-scorer.

On July 17, 2006, he signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, though he spent most of his time with their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.