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Table of Contents

Great Athletes

Marcel Dionne

by David A. Crain

Sport: Ice hockey

Early Life

Marcel Elphege Dionne was born on August 3, 1951, in Drummondville, a steel-mill town 60 miles northeast of Montreal in Canada’s largely French-speaking Quebec province. Marcel’s father, Gilbert, was a 6-foot 2-inch, 230-pound former lumberjack, and his mother, Laurette, a talented figure skater.

Marcel Dionne (right) crossing sticks with the New York Islanders’ John Tonelli during a 1980 NHL game.

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(AP/Wide World Photos)

Marcel was the oldest of eight children in a tightly knit French-Canadian family. Numerous relatives frequented their home, a seventeen-room stucco house with a grocery store business in the front. Young Marcel worked at the family store after school hours, delivering cartons of beer to customers on his bicycle.

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When he was only two, Marcel’s mother bought him a pair of ice skates. Each winter, his father turned the backyard into a hockey practice rink. Here, beside a snowbank, the boy sharpened his skills in freezing temperatures.

The Road to Excellence

By age nine, Marcel was an attraction in the town’s youth hockey program. The Montreal Canadiens expressed interest in Marcel’s future when he was barely a Pee-Wee-level player. Promoting Marcel’s career became a family project for his parents and thirteen uncles. His parents bought him expensive skates when he was thirteen, and appreciative fans donated money after games to buy equipment. At sixteen, Marcel was lured away from his Drummondville Rangers Junior A amateur team by the St. Catharines Junior A Black Hawks of Ontario, a club that has prepared many famous National Hockey League (NHL) stars.

The decision to leave Drummondville and Quebec to play for an English-speaking team at the age of sixteen angered some French-Canadians and hometown folks. When residents threatened legal action, Marcel’s parents pretended to separate. The mother left to live in St. Catharines for three months. This ploy ensured that Marcel could legally play there. Three years later, when the Black Hawks met the Quebec Remparts for the 1971 national amateur championship, the Quebec press called Marcel a “traitor” and fans threw garbage at his parents and physically attacked the Ontario team.

In Ontario, where he also attended school, Marcel overcame the language barrier and learned English. During this three-year apprenticeship, he set a league scoring record of 375 career points. In the 1971 NHL draft, Montreal, with first choice, picked another French-Canadian sensation, Guy Lafleur. The Detroit Red Wings, having second choice and seeking a replacement for the famous Gordie Howe, selected Marcel.

The Emerging Champion

Marcel spent four hectic seasons with Detroit. His 77 points in 1971-1972 was an NHL record for rookies. In these first four seasons, Marcel scored 366 points, a higher total than any previous NHL player. The Red Wings’ management, however, branded him a troublemaker and selfish player when he spoke his mind too often, criticizing the constant replacement of coaches and uninspired play of teammates. After the 1974-1975 season, Marcel decided not to sign a new contract. Many teams were after him, and the Los Angeles Kings won the bidding war with the best offer.

The Kings wanted a superstar center who could improve the team’s chances and attract more fans in an area where hockey was an unfamiliar sport. Marcel made a difficult adjustment to fit in with the disciplined, defense-oriented style favored by his new coach. He worked hard on his defensive game, bombarded the net with goals as expected, and was praised as an unselfish playmaker.

Only 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall and 185 pounds, Marcel, who was called “Little Beaver,” made up for his small, stocky build as one of hockey’s fastest and most agile skaters. He ducked under checks by big defensemen and streaked past them toward their goal. His dazzling footwork left defenders sprawling as he skated around them on breakaways. The sight of Marcel coming at top speed was unnerving to goalies because he had so many unpredictable moves. He kept goaltenders guessing up to the last instant.

Continuing the Story

In 1977, a computer picked Marcel as hockey’s most consistent player from game to game. Moreover, in seven seasons, from 1976-1977 to 1982-1983, he failed to score 50 or more goals and more than 100 points only once; the single exception was because of an injury. Marcel won the league scoring title in 1979. The players’ association picked him as the league’s best in 1979 and 1980. Marcel drew fewer penalties than most players and twice won the Lady Byng Trophy for good sportsmanship.

In Los Angeles, Marcel earned a handsome salary and lived contentedly in a splendid house with his wife, Carol, a French-Canadian girl he met in St. Catharines, and their three children. Sometimes the team’s lack of success led to disputes with management and other players. In his sixteen seasons with Detroit and Los Angeles, Marcel’s teams had only four winning years. The Kings drew progressively smaller crowds in their sixteen thousand capacity Forum. In Los Angeles, hockey seemed to be as out of place as surfing in Drummondville. Local sportswriters virtually ignored the Kings’ superstar, although he was an accessible and colorful personality. If Marcel had played in Montreal, Boston, or New York, his accomplishments would have received the recognition they deserved. Stars who were less consistent but played on winning teams in cities where hockey was popular received much more media exposure than Marcel.

In March, 1987, the Kings traded Marcel to the New York Rangers. Marcel played two more seasons. When he hung up his skates, Marcel’s career point total of 1,771—731 goals, 1,040 assists—in 1,348 games was second only to Gordie Howe’s record of 1,850 points—801 goals, 1,049 assists—in 1,767 games. Drummondville was proud of its contribution to professional hockey. After his retirement in 1990, Marcel became involved in team ownership and administration in the NHL with the expansion North Stars team and in minor-league hockey with the East Coast Hockey League’s South Carolina Sting Rays.

Summary

Marcel Dionne’s career statistics were impressive. They were the result of playing longer and more consistently at a superior level than many other stars who enjoyed only five or six such seasons. The fact that Marcel constantly had to make adjustments to playing with new personnel on his line in Los Angeles makes his accomplishment even more impressive. Marcel’s career is also proof that a little man with the proper skills and attitude can succeed in a bigger man’s physical game.

Additional Sources

1 

McDonell, Chris. For the Love of Hockey: Hockey Stars’ Personal Stories. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2004.

2 

_______. Hockey’s Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2005.

3 

Mahovlich, Ted. Triple Crown: The Marcel Dionne Story. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2005.

4 

Miller, Bob, and Randy Schultz. Bob Miller’s Tales from the Los Angeles Kings. Champaign, Ill.: Sports, 2006.

5 

Mravic, Mark. “Lords of No Rings.” Sports Illustrated 92, no. 13 (March 27, 2000): 34-35.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Crain, David A. "Marcel Dionne." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_1955.
APA 7th
Crain, D. A. (2009). Marcel Dionne. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Crain, David A. "Marcel Dionne." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.