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Norm Maracle

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Canadian ice hockey player (born 1974) Ice hockey player
Norm Maracle
Maracle playing for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
Born (1974-10-02) October 2, 1974 (age 50)
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Atlanta Thrashers
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Avangard Omsk
Iserlohn Roosters
HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
Kölner Haie
NHL draft 126th overall, 1993
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1994–2012

Norm Maracle (born October 2, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Prior to ending his career in Europe, Maracle played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers.

Playing career

Junior

Maracle joined the WHL's Saskatoon Blades during the 1991–92 season and remained with them until the 1993–94 season. Maracle's level of play during the 1993–94 season would earn him the Del Wilson Trophy for best goaltender in the WHL. Prior to the 1993–94 seasons, the Detroit Red Wings drafted Maracle in the 5th Round, 126th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Professional

Detroit

For the start of the 1994–95 season, Maracle was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and reassigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings, sharing goaltending duties with Kevin Hodson. For the next two seasons, Maracle remained in the AHL, posting prolific winning records and a high save percentage each season, but was not called up by the Red Wings due to their overwhelming goaltending depth, as he was the fourth goaltender behind Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood and Hodson. After he had retired, Maracle was honored into the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame in Glens Falls, New York, in 2018. He was one of three former members of the Detroit Red Wings affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings, next to Neil Smith (ice hockey) and Chris Tancill.

While Maracle spent the 1997–98 season as the starting goaltender in Adirondack, he eventually received a call up from the Red Wings and posted a 2–0–1 record in four NHL appearances. He did not see any playoff action that season, where the Red Wings went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. He was included on the team picture, and awarded a Stanley Cup ring. However, his name does not appear on the Stanley Cup because he did not play enough games to qualify.

Maracle challenged Hodson for the backup spot for the 1998–99 season. Maracle put up solid numbers during the season and as a result, became Detroit's backup goaltender to Osgood. Maracle appeared in 16 regular season contests, posting a 6–5–2 record and a 91.8% save percentage. Hodson, however, was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to the trade deadline so the Red Wings could acquire Bill Ranford as Detroit's third goaltender. Due to Ranford's strong showing towards the end of the regular season, the Red Wings kept Maracle on the roster, but designated him as the third goaltender. After the Red Wings defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the opening round of the playoffs, they went on to face the Colorado Avalanche in the Conference Semifinals. Osgood was injured prior to the first game, making Ranford the starting goaltender and Maracle the backup. Maracle played in two games against Colorado, relieving Ranford both times. By the time Osgood returned, the Red Wings could not overcome the Avalanche and were eliminated. Not having lived up to expectations, Ranford was not re-signed at the end of the season, and Maracle also fell under scrutiny for underperforming in the playoffs. Maracle was left unprotected in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft, and was claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers on June 25, 1999.

Maracle earned the nickname "Miracle" because despite being a borderline starting goaltender, he would occasionally have superb games (including three 50+ save performances).

Atlanta

With the 1999–2000 season in the NHL being the first for the Thrashers, there was some instability in the lineup. Maracle still managed to start in more games for the Thrashers than any of Atlanta's other four goalies (Damian Rhodes, Scott Fankhouser, Scott Langkow and Rick Tabaracci). However, Maracle finished the season with a 4–19–2 record and a save percentage of .890. Maracle's save percentage put him in 43rd place out of 83 eligible goaltenders (goalies who played at least 20 games in the NHL season). The team did not make the playoffs in the 1999–2000 season.

When Maracle reported for the 2000–01 training camp, his conditioning had become so poor that he was reassigned to the Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League, Atlanta's minor league affiliate. Maracle posted an impressive 33–13–3 record at the minor level, his eight shutouts with Orlando were a team record prior to the team folding. He also helped backstop the Solar Bears to their first and only Turner Cup victory in the league's final year of operation. His strong minor league performance earned him 13 appearances for the Thrashers during that season. Though his record for the Thrashers was 2–8–3, his save percentage slightly improved.

Maracle appeared in a single NHL game for the 2001–02 season, a 3–0 loss to the Washington Capitals on November 10, 2001; which was his last NHL game. Maracle spent the rest of the season with the Thrashers' new minor league affiliate, the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, as the starting goaltender with Pasi Nurminen backing him up.

For the 2002–03 Season, Maracle remained in the minors while Nurminen ascended the depth charts to become Atlanta's starting goaltender, with Milan Hnilicka, Byron Dafoe and Frédéric Cassivi supporting him. Having run out of options to leave the minors in the North American system, Maracle signed with Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the RSL on June 8, 2003.

Europe

Maracle, better conditioned and in a new system, appeared in 46 contests for Magnitogorsk Metallurg for the 2003–04 season.

Though he signed a contract with the Nurnburg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Liga at the start of the 2004–05 season, he never appeared in a contest for them. Maracle then signed with the 2004 RSL Champion Avangard Omsk on November 5, 2004, with whom Maracle won the European Cup Championship. Maracle was the starting goaltender for Avangard in 2005–06 season as well.

In 2006–07, Maracle was the backup to Alexander Fomichev. The team placed third overall in the league and lost the semi-finals of the Russian Super League Championships to the eventual champions, Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

For the 2007–08 season, Maracle signed with the Iserlohn Roosters in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Maracle became a favorite amongst Roosters fans, especially for his on ice antics including break dancing.

Maracle joined HDD Olimpija Ljubljana of the Austrian Hockey League in the 2009–10 season, from January to April 2010 he transferred to return to the DEL for Kölner Haie.

Maracle signed with Starbulls Rosenheim, a team in Germany's 2nd tier Bundesliga, in July 2010, he remained as the club's first choice keeper in two seasons in Rosenheim. On May 25, 2012, the Starbulls announced that due to personal issues, Maracle would not be returning to the team.

Personal life

Maracle was born in Belleville, Ontario, but grew up in Calgary, Alberta. For four years, he coached young players in Whapmagoostui, in northern Quebec. Maracle is a Mohawk from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. This Territory is an Indigenous Reserve located near Belleville, Ontario.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1990–91 Calgary North Stars AMHL 29 — — — 1740 99 0 3.43 — — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Saskatoon Blades WHL 29 13 6 3 1529 87 1 3.41 .946 15 9 5 860 37 0 3.38 —
1992–93 Saskatoon Blades WHL 53 27 18 3 2939 160 1 3.27 — 9 4 5 569 33 0 3.48 —
1993–94 Saskatoon Blades WHL 56 41 13 1 3219 148 2 2.76 .918 16 11 5 940 48 1 3.06 —
1994–95 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 39 12 15 2 1997 119 0 3.57 .896 — — — — — — — —
1995–96 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 54 24 18 6 2949 135 2 2.75 .905 1 0 1 30 4 0 8.11 —
1996–97 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 68 34 22 9 3843 173 5 2.70 .916 4 1 3 192 10 1 3.13 —
1997–98 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 66 27 29 8 3709 190 1 3.07 .912 3 0 3 180 10 0 3.33 —
1997–98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4 2 0 1 178 6 0 2.02 .905 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 6 3 3 0 359 18 0 3.01 .908 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 6 5 2 821 31 0 2.27 .918 2 0 0 58 3 0 3.10 .864
1999–00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 32 4 19 2 1618 94 1 3.49 .890 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 51 33 13 3 2963 100 8 2.02 .925 16 12 4 1003 37 1 2.21 —
2000–01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 13 2 8 3 753 43 0 3.43 .894 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Chicago Wolves AHL 51 21 25 4 2919 141 3 2.90 .906 2 0 1 55 4 0 4.36 .818
2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00 .850 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Chicago Wolves AHL 49 22 18 6 2794 134 2 2.88 .906 8 3 4 462 17 1 2.21 .915
2003–04 Metallurg Magnitogorsk RSL 46 — — — 2457 82 8 2.00 .925 14 — — — — — — —
2004–05 Avangard Omsk RSL 28 — — — — — — — — 10 — — — — — — —
2005–06 Avangard Omsk RSL 44 — — — 2565 91 5 2.13 .909 13 — — — — — — —
2006–07 Avangard Omsk RSL 12 — — — — — — — — 6 — — — — — — —
2007–08 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 50 24 13 0 1596 155 4 3.18 .911 10 7 3 4 — — — —
2008–09 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 33 8 13 0 947 106 0 3.43 .899 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 HDD Tilia Olimpija EBEL 25 — — — — — — 3.58 .901 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Kölner Haie DEL 5 0 3 0 128 14 0 3.22 .901 3 — — — — — — —
2010–11 Starbulls Rosenheim 2.GBun 44 24 19 0 2626 110 0 2.51 — 11 — — — — — — —
2011–12 Starbulls Rosenheim 2.GBun 45 23 21 0 2604 111 3 2.56 — — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 66 14 33 8 3430 177 1 3.10 .897 2 0 0 58 3 0 3.10 .864

Awards

  • WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1993
  • WHL East First All-Star Team – 1994

References

  1. Nudi, Erin (January 3, 2018). "2018 Class of Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees Announced". GlensFalls.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  2. "Atlanta braces for NHL's second stint".
  3. "Full text of "The Austin Chronicle 2009-04-17"". Internet Archive. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  4. "1999-2000 Goalie Stats". QuantHockey. 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  5. "Thrashers' Maracle a no-show for first day of camp".
  6. "Orlando Solar Bears roster and statistics".
  7. "Norm Maracle tanzt nach Spielabbruch Iserlohn Roosters gegen Duisburg". YouTube. 2008-11-13. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  8. "Norm Maracle signed by the Sharks" (in German). Kölner Haie. 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  9. Vaclav Jáchim (2012-05-25). "Maracle will not return" (in German). Starbulls Rosenheim. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  10. "Norm Maracle player profile". EuroHockey.com. 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  11. Petrick, Steven (7 September 2017). "Hockey journeyman Norm Maracle's next challenge is in Barry's Bay". Toronto.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  12. Laskaris, Sam (August 28, 2017). "Indigenous Stanely Cup champ to coach new Brampton junior hockey team". Wind Speaker – via Aboriginal Multi-Media Society Association.

External links

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