Anthony Syiid McKegney (born February 15, 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

player who played 13 seasons 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 ...

from 1978–79 until 1990–91. He is the first Black player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season.

Career

McKegney was drafted 32nd overall by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. On June 8, 1983, after five seasons with the Sabres, he was traded along with centers Andre Savard and J.F. Sauve to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for winger Real Cloutier and Quebec's first-round draft pick in the 1983 draft. McKegney was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, to a Nigerian father and Canadian mother, but was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

soon thereafter, and raised by a white family in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

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 ...

. As a teenager he played Jr. 'B' hockey in Sarnia. He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Ian, who had been a star with the Sarnia Legionnaires before moving on to the pros. At age twenty, Tony McKegney signed a contract with the now defunct

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 ...

’s (WHA) Birmingham Bulls, only to see the owner illegally renege on the deal after fans threatened to boycott the team for having added a black player to its roster. However, the WHA’s loss became the NHL’s gain, as McKegney would go on to score over 300 career goals, including 40 in the 1987-88 season. His total of 78 points in one season would remain the highest ever recorded by a black player until

Jarome Iginla Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (; born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. He played over 1,500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsbu ...

's breakout 2001-2002 campaign. He registered nine 20-goal seasons in a career that lasted over 900 games. After finishing the 1990-91 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, McKegney would spend a season in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with

HC Varese Hockey Club Varese is an ice hockey team from Varese, Italy. It was created on 1977 under the name A.S. Mastini Varese Hockey. In 2005 (June) the club folded, but it continued to play in the Under 19 series under the name Hockey Club Varese, a new ...

, as well as three games with the Canadian National Team.

Terry Crisp Terrance Arthur Crisp (born May 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. Crisp played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers be ...

, who was on the Canadian National Team coaching staff was named the head coach of the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

for their inaugural season in 1992-93, raising McKegney's hopes that he could mount an NHL comeback with the club. He felt that he could be a veteran leader for the expansion club, but he didn't crack the roster and instead played 23 games with the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks. The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. History On Jan ...

in 1992-93 before retiring. McKegney currently does periodic work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association and the

Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorm (sports), barnstorming hockey team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former members of the Buffalo Sabre ...

Achievements and awards

* OMJHL First All-Star Team (

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

) *OMJHL Second All-Star Team (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKegney, Tony 1958 births Living people Black Canadian ice hockey players Black Canadian sportsmen Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian adoptees Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings players HC Varese players Hershey Bears players Kingston Canadians players Ice hockey people from Montreal Minnesota North Stars players New York Rangers players Quebec Nordiques players San Diego Gulls (IHL) players Ice hockey people from Sarnia St. Louis Blues players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen