When Brian MacLellan was a young boy playing road hockey on Skov Crescent in Guelph, he already had Stanley Cup dreams. The young boy grew into a powerful winger who could work just effectively in the corner as he did in front of the net.
For MacLellan, this is actually his second trip into our Hall of Fame as he was inducted as a member of the 1977-78 Centennial Cup champion Guelph CMCs.
After learning the game of hockey while playing in the Guelph Minor Hockey Association, he graduated from Bowling Green University and joined the New Haven Knighthawks of the AHL. He played his first eight games in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings in 1982-83 but the following year, officially his rookie season, he burst onto the scene with 25 goals and 54 points. The following year MacLellan had 31 goals and 85 points to sit fourth in team scoring behind the Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. He played part of a season with the New York Rangers before playing three years with the Minnesota North Stars potting 32 goals one season.
Then a twist of fate saw him traded to the Calgary Flames in the winter of 1989. Twelve regular season games and 21 playoff games later, he was on the ice with Flames captain Lanny McDonald at the Montreal Forum raising the Stanley Cup over his head. “It was great” said MacLellan. “It’s the thing you dreamed of all your life and now you have it. Even better, we did it in the Montreal Forum. It was great to do it there. For me, that was the real home of hockey.”
In all, MacLellan would amass 172 goals, 241 assists and 551 penalty minutes during his 10-year career.
He is currently a scout for the Washington Capitals, working for his old team-mate from the Guelph CMC’s, George McPhee, another honoured member of our hall.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame – Athlete category – on May 10, 2006
