Ross Lonsberry | |||
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Born |
Humboldt, SK, CAN |
February 7, 1947||
Died | May 4, 2014 Santa Clarita, CA, USA |
(aged 67)||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
Position | Left Wing | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
AHL Buffalo Bisons NHL Boston Bruins Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins |
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Playing career | 1966–1981 |
David Ross Lonsberry (February 7, 1947 – May 4, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He had his best seasons in a Flyers uniform and was a member of Philadelphia's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in the mid-1970s.
Signed with the Boston Bruins organization as a teenager, Lonsberry enjoyed an outstanding junior career with the Estevan Bruins junior club of the SJHL, winning the scoring championship in his final season with 144 points in only 60 games, and following with 23 goals in 25 playoff games en route to the Memorial Cup semifinals. Starting in 1966, Lonsberry had a three-year professional apprenticeship with the Bruins' Oklahoma City Blazers Central Hockey League farm team, while spending some time with the NHL club in each of the three seasons.
Coveted by the Los Angeles Kings, they traded for him in 1970 for two first round draft picks, and he became a steady two-way performer for Los Angeles, scoring twenty or more goals each of his two full seasons with the Kings and being named to play in the NHL All-Star Game in 1972. He played 82 games combined in an 78-game season with the Kings and Flyers in 1971-72.
Shortly thereafter, however, he was traded in a seven-player deal that was at the time the largest in league history to the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom he would meet with the most success. Playing on a line with Rick MacLeish and Gary Dornhoefer, his hard-nosed two-way style fit in perfectly with the "Broad Street Bullies," scoring over twenty goals in three of his six and a half seasons in Philadelphia and participating in both of the Flyers' Stanley Cup championships. His best season was 1974, the first such championship, where he had a career high 32 goals and followed with 13 points in 17 playoff games.