The Barrie Flyers took it all in 1952-53. They took first place in the league, winning the Robertson Cup over the St. Michael’s Majors, and taking the Memorial Cup with a win over the St. Boniface Canadiens. The franchise would also achieve Mem Cup success as the Niagara Falls Flyers but, so far, not the Sudbury Wolves. One of the main factors in Barrie’s success was the play of center Don McKenney.

A bit of an unsung hero in the hockey world, McKenney isn’t enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he does have a pretty impressive list of accomplishments. He played two seasons with the Flyers, 1951-52 and 1952-53, scoring more than 30 goals each season. In the days leading up to the draft, Barrie was sponsored by the NHL’s Boston Bruins. After a year with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, McKenney found his way to Boston.

In his first season with the Bruins, McKenney was the Calder Trophy runner-up for rookie of the year after leading Boston in points with 42 in 69 games. Every season that he played with Boston, Don generally ranked first or second in team scoring. He led the team in 1956-57 and 1958-59.

Overall, he was in the NHL’s top ten point earners four times, all between 1956-57 and 1959-60. The only major individual award from him was the Lady Byng Trophy in 1959-60.

He was an integral part of the 1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup victory. Secluded late in the season from the New York Rangers, McKenney contributed 12 points in 12 games en route to the Cup. Previously with Boston, he reached the final after the Bruins finished fourth in the six-team league and they defeated the Rangers in the first round before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the final. That playoff season, McKenney scored nine and added eight assists for 17 points in just 12 games.

McKenney played in the NHL from 1954-55 to 1965-66 with the Bruins, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings. He returned in 1967-68 with 39 games in a St. Louis Blues uniform. He continued to play in the American Hockey League until the end of the 1969-70 season. With the Pittsburgh Hornets in 1966-67, he won another championship in another league when the Hornets clinched the Calder Cup in their final year of existence. The swan song of his, so to speak, came in 1968-69 with the Providence Reds, racking up 74 points and finishing eighth in AHL scoring.

Don McKenney’s rookie hockey card appears in the 1954-55 Topps series, the first Topps-produced hockey game. Although Gordie Howe’s card is worth $1800, McKenney’s is the highest value rookie card at $80, according to Beckett Hockey Monthly.

Don was a coach for several years at Northeastern University in the US, his last coaching was in 1990-91.