Don Thompson (ice hockey)
# Don Thompson (ice hockey)

Donald Thompson is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward who was an All-American for Michigan State.

## Career

Thompson briefly played for the Niagara Falls Flyers in 1968–69 but soon left the team so he could register as a freshman at Michigan State University. In doing so, he would be able to count the year as his freshman season and begin to play as a sophomore on the varsity squad in 1970. Shortly after Thompson joined Michigan State, the NCAA changed its long-standing police to limit student athletes to three seasons of varsity play. Beginning with the 1969–70 season, all incoming players had four years of eligibility. As a consequence, when Thompson was named as the WCHA Sophomore of the Year for 1970, he was the final player to receive that award.

Despite the lost season, Thompson became a standout player for the Spartans in the early-1970s. He led the team in scoring in each of his three seasons with the club and was named an All-American in 1971. As a senior, he finished sixth in the nation in scoring. When Thompson graduated he was the Sparta's all-time leading scorer, however, nearly all of his records were surpassed due to the deluge of scoring that occurred in the mid-1970s.

After college, Thompson played senior hockey briefly before becoming a beneficiary of the rapid expansion of professional hockey. Due to both the NHL's and WHA's demand for players, Thompson was able to sign a professional contract with the New Haven Nighthawks. He played parts of two seasons with the team, providing depth scoring and helping them reach the second round in 1974.

## Career statistics

### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1966–67 | Etobicoke Indians | MJBHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | Michigan State | WCHA | 24 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Michigan State | WCHA | 31 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Michigan State | WCHA | 35 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73 | Clinton Comets | EHL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 33 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 61 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 1974–75 | Peoria Blades | CnHL | — | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NCAA Totals | NCAA Totals | NCAA Totals | 90 | 65 | 91 | 156 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — |
| AHL Totals | AHL Totals | AHL Totals | 94 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |

## Awards and honors

| Award | Year |
| - | - |
| All-WCHA First Team | 1970–71 |
| AHCA West All-American | 1970–71 |
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1971–72 |
