View source for Don Luce

{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{for|the American anti-war activist|Don Luce (activist)}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image =
| image_size =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|10|2|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[London, Ontario]], Canada
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 190
| position = [[Centre (ice hockey)|Centre]]
| shoots = Left
| played_for = [[New York Rangers]]<br>[[Detroit Red Wings]]<br>[[Buffalo Sabres]]<br>[[Los Angeles Kings]]<br>[[Toronto Maple Leafs]]
| draft = 14th overall
| draft_year = 1966
| draft_team = [[New York Rangers]]
| career_start = 1968
| career_end = 1982
}}
'''Donald Harold Luce''' (born October 2, 1948) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] former professional [[ice hockey]] [[Centre (ice hockey)|centre]], executive and scout. Luce played 13 seasons in the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) for the [[New York Rangers]], [[Detroit Red Wings]], [[Buffalo Sabres]], [[Los Angeles Kings]] and [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] from 1969 to 1982.
After his playing career, Luce moved into a long career in player development for the Sabres and the [[Philadelphia Flyers]]. He is currently working as a pro scout for the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]].<ref name="Leafs_scout">{{cite web|url=http://theleafsnation.com/2015/9/20/leafs-add-troy-bodie-don-luce-as-pro-scouts|title=LEAFS ADD TROY BODIE, DON LUCE AS PRO SCOUTS|date=20 September 2015|accessdate=September 23, 2015|publisher=The Nation Network|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112211/http://theleafsnation.com/2015/9/20/leafs-add-troy-bodie-don-luce-as-pro-scouts|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Playing career==
Luce was drafted by the [[New York Rangers]] and played three seasons (1965–68) for their farm team; the [[Kitchener Rangers]] in [[Kitchener, Ontario]]. He then played one and a half seasons with another Rangers farm team, the [[Omaha Knights (1966–1975)|Omaha Knights]], before being brought up to the NHL team for the last 12 games of [[1969–70 NHL season|1969–70]].
Luce scored his first NHL goal on March 15, 1970 in his team's 4-2 home loss to the Minnesota North Stars.  It was his only goal as a New York Ranger.
During the [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–1971]] season he was traded to the [[Detroit Red Wings]], where he played 58 games before being dealt again, this time to the [[Buffalo Sabres]], for whom he then played until 1981. Luce was awarded the [[Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy|Bill Masterton Trophy]], awarded to the NHL player annually who best demonstrates the qualities of perseverance, leadership and dedication to the sport of hockey, for the [[1974–75 NHL season|1974-75]] season.
In the middle of the [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81 season]] he was traded to the [[Los Angeles Kings]], and finished his career the following season with the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]].
Luce was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1986 <ref>{{cite web|title=Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame |url=http://www.sabresalumni.com/history/halloffame.php |work=sabresalumni.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618013818/http://www.sabresalumni.com/history/halloffame.php |archivedate=2012-06-18 }}</ref> and also served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres in [[1986–87 NHL season|1986–87]]. He served as the Sabres' Head of Player development from the end of his term as assistant coach until July 2006, when the team let him go and cut much of its scouting department. Luce had been responsible for bringing in the likes of [[Alexander Mogilny]], [[Maxim Afinogenov]], [[Martin Biron]], [[Brian Campbell]], and [[Jason Pominville]].
He is remembered among Sabres fans fondly for his work ethic on the ice, his abilities on the penalty kill, his work in the team's front office, and in the community where he and his wife Diane continue to act charitably even though they are no longer affiliated with the Sabres.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}
Luce played 894 career NHL games, scoring 225 goals and 329 assists for 554 points. His best statistical season was the [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75 season]] with the Buffalo Sabres, when he set career highs in goals (33), points (76), shorthanded goals (8), and plus minus with a +61 rating.
Luce was appointed Director of Player Development for the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] on December 1, 2006<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://flyers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=35748|title=bio - luce - Philadelphia Flyers - Team|accessdate=2011-02-05|publisher=Philadelphia Flyers}}</ref> and served in that position through the {{NHL Year|2011}} season.
On September 20, 2015, it was announced that Luce had been hired as a professional scout for the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]].<ref name="Leafs_scout" />
==Personal life==
Luce's grandson Griffin played NCAA Division 1 hockey for the [[University of Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Allentuck |first1=Danielle |title=With grandfather watching, Griffin Luce makes most out of Sabres camp invite |url=https://buffalonews.com/2018/07/04/with-grandfather-watching-on-griffin-luce-makes-most-out-of-sabres-camp-invite/ |website=buffalonews.com |accessdate=January 25, 2019 |date=July 4, 2018}}</ref>
==Career statistics==
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3"  bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! colspan="5"                    | [[regular season|Regular&nbsp;season]]
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! colspan="5"                    | [[Playoffs]]
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP
! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]]
! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]]
! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]]
! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [[1965–66 OHA season|1965–66]]||[[Kitchener Rangers]]||[[Ontario Hockey League|OHA-Jr.]]||47||16||19||35||71||19||4||12||16||20
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1966–67 OHA season|1966–67]]||Kitchener Rangers||OHA-Jr.||48||19||42||61||94||13||7||9||16||35
|-
| [[1967–68 OHA season|1967–68]]||Kitchener Rangers||OHA-Jr.||54||24||70||94||88||19||4||8||12||52
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1968–69 CHL season|1968–69]]||[[Omaha Knights (1966–1975)|Omaha Knights]]||[[Central Hockey League (1963-84)|CHL]]||72||22||34||56||56||7||3||4||7||11
|-
| [[1969–70 NHL season|1969–70]]||[[New York Rangers]]||[[National Hockey League|NHL]]||12||1||2||3||8||5||0||1||1||4
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1969–70 CHL season|1969–70]]||Omaha Knights||CHL||64||22||35||57||82||2||1||2||3||4
|-
| [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–71]]||New York Rangers||NHL||9||0||1||1||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| 1970–71||[[Detroit Red Wings]]||NHL||58||3||11||14||18||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1971–72 NHL season|1971–72]]||[[Buffalo Sabres]]||NHL||78||11||8||19||38||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1972–73 NHL season|1972–73]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||78||18||25||43||32||6||1||1||2||2
|-
| [[1973–74 NHL season|1973–74]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||75||26||30||56||44||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||80||33||43||76||45||16||5||8||13||19
|-
| [[1975–76 NHL season|1975–76]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||77||21||49||70||42||9||4||3||7||6
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1976–77 NHL season|1976–77]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||80||26||43||69||16||6||3||1||4||2
|-
| [[1977–78 NHL season|1977–78]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||78||26||35||61||24||8||0||2||2||6
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1978–79 NHL season|1978–79]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||79||26||35||61||14||3||1||1||2||0
|-
| [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||80||14||29||43||30||14||3||3||6||11
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81]]||Buffalo Sabres||NHL||61||15||13||28||19||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| 1980–81||[[Los Angeles Kings]]||NHL||10||1||0||1||2||4||0||2||2||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [[1981–82 NHL season|1981–82]]||[[Toronto Maple Leafs]]||NHL||39||4||4||8||32||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [[1981–82 CHL season|1981–82]]||[[Salt Lake Golden Eagles]]||CHL||2||1||0||1||4||10||2||5||7||8
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 894
! 225
! 328
! 553
! 364
! 71
! 17
! 22
! 39
! 52
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{icehockeystats}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Don}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Buffalo Sabres executives]]
[[Category:Buffalo Sabres players]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey centres]]
[[Category:Detroit Red Wings players]]
[[Category:Kitchener Rangers players]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Kings players]]
[[Category:National Hockey League executives]]
[[Category:New York Rangers draft picks]]
[[Category:New York Rangers players]]
[[Category:Omaha Knights (CHL) players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers executives]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers scouts]]
[[Category:Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from London, Ontario]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States]]