Albert Thomas "Ab" DeMarco Jr. (born February 27, 1949) is an American-born Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) and

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) during the 1970s. DeMarco was noted for his shot, considered one of the hardest in the sport at the time. He is the son of

Ab DeMarco Sr Albert George DeMarco, Sr. (May 10, 1916 – May 25, 1989) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. DeMarco started his National Hockey League career with the Chicago Black Hawks. He would also play with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins a ...

., who starred for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

in the 1940s.

Playing career

DeMarco was born in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

while his father was playing for the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) Cleveland Barons, but was raised in North Bay,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He played his

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

for the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

and, after representing

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

1969 Ice Hockey World Championships The 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 36th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships, which also doubled as the 47th European ice hockey championships. For the first time the Pool A, B and C tournaments were hosted by different natio ...

, he was signed by the

, the team with which his father spent the majority of his career. DeMarco played his first two professional seasons in the CHL minor league, earning brief NHL call-ups to New York. In 1971–72, he played with the Rangers full-time, appearing in two-thirds of the scheduled games, recording 4 goals and 11 points in 48 games. Late in the

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

season, DeMarco was dealt to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Given an opportunity to play more and receive time on the

power play "Power play" is a sporting term used to describe a period of play where one team has a numerical advantage in players, usually due to a rule violation by the opposing team. Temporary numerical advantage in players during a team sport In several ...

, DeMarco responded with 13 points in 14 games, to give him a total of 30 points on the season. Early into the next season, DeMarco was traded to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. This would be the pattern of his career, as he would become something of a nomad, as offense-starved teams would pick him up to help their power play, but eventually grow frustrated at his poor defensive play, and he would find himself on the move again. He finished the 1973–74 season with a career-high 31 points in 59 games between St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Early in the

1974–75 NHL season The 1974–75 NHL season was the 58th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts, were added, increasing the number of teams to 18. To accommodate the new teams, the NHL re-organized its ...

, DeMarco was traded to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. In Vancouver, he posted a career-high 12 goals, playing a career-high 69 (of 78) games, helping the team to a division championship and their first-ever playoff berth. His 9 power-play goals for a blueliner that season ranked behind only

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the ...

and

Guy Lapointe Guy Gerard Lapointe (born March 18, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He retired in 2020 after serving as Coordina ...

. After a poor offensive start to the

1975–76 NHL season The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final. Amateur draft The 1975 NHL amateur draft wa ...

, DeMarco was traded to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

, and his offensive output fell to 18 points in 64 games. DeMarco spent most of the 1976–77 season in the minors, appearing in just 33 games for LA and scoring 6 points. DeMarco then jumped to the rival

, signing with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

for the

1977–78 WHA season The 1977–78 WHA season was the sixth season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Eight teams played 80 games each. The Avco World Trophy winner was the Winnipeg Jets. League business With a reduction of three teams from the end of the previ ...

. He spent just one season in Edmonton, registering 6 goals and 14 points in 47 games. DeMarco returned to the NHL for the 1978–79 season, signing with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, but appeared in only three games for the team. After a season in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, he retired in 1980. He finished his career with totals of 44 goals and 80 assists for 124 points in 344 NHL games over 9 seasons.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demarco, Ab Jr. 1949 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Fort Worth Texans players HC Ambrì-Piotta players Ice hockey people from North Bay, Ontario Kitchener Rangers players Los Angeles Kings players New York Rangers players Omaha Knights (CHL) players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Pittsburgh Penguins players St. Louis Blues players Vancouver Canucks players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen