Jeff MacMillan

Career

Jeff MacMillan's professional hockey journey kicked off in 1996 with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, a junior team where he spent three seasons and appeared in nearly 170 games. His reputation as a steady defender who could also chip in offensively caught the attention of NHL scouts, leading the Dallas Stars to select him in the seventh round of the 1999 entry draft. The Stars first sent him to the UHL's Fort Wayne Komets, but after just seven games there, he was reassigned to the Michigan K-Wings, a Dallas affiliate in the IHL. He played 53 games during the K-Wings' final season as a Stars farm team. When Dallas ended that affiliation, MacMillan was moved to the Utah Grizzlies, another IHL club. He remained in Salt Lake City for four seasons, sticking with the Grizzlies as they transitioned to the higher-level AHL. Over that stretch, he became a fixture for the team, logging more than 300 games. His dependable defensive work earned him a brief call-up to the Dallas Stars during the 2003-04 season, where he suited up for four NHL regular-season games. The following year, he was sent back to the AHL, this time with the Hartford Wolf Pack. In his lone season there, he was a key contributor, playing 71 games and racking up 136 penalty minutes. He spent the 2005-06 season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. Seeking a change, MacMillan moved to Europe for the 2006-07 campaign, signing with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian league. He didn't finish the season there, instead returning to North America to join the Phoenix RoadRunners of the ECHL, where he also took part in the playoffs. The following summer, he opted for another European stint. In 2007, alongside former Vienna teammate Scott Fankhouser, he signed with the Manchester Phoenix of the EIHL, the top tier of British ice hockey. There, player-coach Tony Hand named him an alternate captain.