Joe McDonnell

Joe McDonnell (born May 11, 1961, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played 50 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks.

He played junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers from 1976 to 1981. He made the 1981 Memorial Cup tournament all-star team.

Undrafted by any NHL team, McDonnell was given a tryout by the Vancouver Canucks. He played for their farm team Dallas Black Hawks in 1981-82 and even got a seven game callup with the Canucks.

The next year he signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers. He neer even got close to playing for the powerful NHL team, and only played for their Moncton Alpines farm team.

In December, 1984, McDonnell signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and played 40 games for them. In 1985-86 he saw only 3 games with the Penguins and retired.

He became an assistant coach of the Kitchener Rangers in 1986-87 and was promoted to head coach during that season. McDonnell remained as coach until the 1993-94 season.

McDonnell is currently the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Stanley Cup four times with Detroit, in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

Awards

 * 1988-89 Matt Leyden Trophy