Kent Douglas had a pretty spectacular start to his National Hockey League career. After three consecutive Calder Cup championships in the AHL with the mighty Springfield Indians, Douglas joined the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 1962-63 NHL season, playing in all 70 regular season and 10 playoff games for the Leafs. Toronto won the Stanley Cup and Douglas was awarded the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.
Unfortunately, he found himself back in the minors the following season. Kent did play in the NHL again but it was not the career fitting of a Calder winner. He is, however, one of just seven players to win both the Calder Cup and Calder Trophy.
Kent Douglas – Junior and Minor Pro
Douglas played two years of major junior in the OHA, 1954-55 and 1955-56, with the Kitchener Canucks. 1955-56 would prove to be the final year the Canucks would spend in Kitchener, transferring to Peterborough for 1956-57 where they were first known as the T.P.T.’s and are now known as the Petes.
It was in the American Hockey League where Kent played the majority of his pro hockey career. In all, the defenseman appeared in 625 regular season AHL games, scoring 95 and assisting on 309 for 404 points. He also appeared in 74 playoff games, adding 38 points.
He was part of the amazing Springfield Indians of the early 1960’s. The Indians were like a freight train in the AHL, capturing three consecutive Calder Cup championships between 1959-60 and 1961-62. It is said that that team could have done admirably in the NHL.
With the Indians in 1961-62, Douglas scored 18 goals and assisted on 41 for 59 points over 59 games. His 151 penalty minutes placed him sixth in the AHL. Over 11 playoff games, he added ten points, tying him for the team lead with Bill Sweeney. Kent was honoured with the Eddie Shore Award as the best defenseman in the AHL.
In 1966-67, Douglas split his season between three teams. He appeared in 13 games with the Tulsa Oilers of the CHL and 39 games in the NHL with Toronto. Kent ended the year with eleven games as a member of the Rochester Americans, posting 16 points from the blue line.
Douglas then played ten games for the Amerks in the playoffs as the team reached the finals before being swept by the Pittsburgh Hornets. It was the last year of existence for the Hornets with the expansion Penguins entering the NHL for 1967-68. Kent joined a defense core with Rochester that included Don Cherry and Al Arbour.
1971-72 brought one last visit to the Calder Cup finals for Kent. As a member of the Baltimore Clippers, he totalled 37 points over 75 regular season games. The Clippers won the first two games in the finals against the Nova Scotia Voyageurs before dropping the next four and the series.
His last year in pro hockey was one of his best, despite spending the last of it in the IHL. Douglas played 22 regular season games for the Toledo Goaldiggers and 19 more for the club in the playoffs after starting the year in the AHL with Baltimore.
Toledo was mediocre at best during the regular season with 34 wins and 38 losses, along with four ties. The Goaldiggers finished third of five in the South Division and seventh of eleven overall in the IHL. However, they took out the Dayton Gems in seven games in the semi-finals to earn a shot at the Turner Cup.
Toledo came up against the Saginaw Gears in the finals. The series went the full seven games again with the Goaldiggers coming out on top. Each team scored an even 35 goals on the series. Toledo was coached by Ted Garvin, a bit of an IHL great. Garvin coached four teams to Turner Cup championships and lost in the finals three times. He coached the Detroit Red Wings for eleven games in 1973-74 before being replaced by Alex Delvecchio.
Kent Douglas – Major League Hockey
Between 1962-63 and 1968-69, Douglas played in 428 regular season NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Oakland Seals. Over that time, he scored 33 and assisted on 115 for 148 points. In 19 Stanley Cup playoff games, he added four assists. All of those 19 playoff games were with the Maple Leafs.
Kent Douglas Collection
As mentioned, Kent played all 70 games for the Maple Leafs in his rookie 1962-63 season. He then appeared in all ten playoff games as Toronto won the second of three straight Stanley Cup championships with a win over Detroit in the finals. Douglas was awarded the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
However, the following year, Kent was sent down to the Rochester Americans after 43 games and did not participate in Toronto’s third consecutive championship run.
The Oakland Seals selected Douglas in the fourth round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 23rd overall. Just 40 games into the 1967-68 season, the Seals dealt Kent to the Red Wings in exchange for John Brennerman, Ted Hampson and Bert Marshall.
The World Hockey Association gave Douglas one last shot at the big leagues in 1972-73. In the WHA’s inaugural season, Kent played 60 games for the New York Raiders. The Raiders were coached by NHL legend Camille Henry and finished sixth in the six team Eastern Division. New York placed just ahead of the last place Chicago Cougars in the 12 team league. It wasn’t all bad for the Raiders. Ron Ward finished second in the WHA with 118 points and tied Bobby Hull for third with 51 goals.
Kent Douglas – Rookie Card
The Kent Douglas rookie card appears as both number 7 and number 67 in the 1963-64 Parkhurst set. The last set ever produced by Parkhurst, most players were featured twice. Douglas is shown as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He would appear on mainstream cardboard just three more times over his career.
Kent Douglas Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1954-55 | Kitchener Canucks | OHA | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 104 |
| 1955-56 | Kitchener Canucks | OHA | 48 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 193 |
| 1955-56 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1956-57 | Owen Sound Mercurys | OHASr | 52 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 205 |
| 1957-58 | Winnipeg Warriors | WHL | 68 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 135 |
| 1958-59 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 48 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 144 |
| 1958-59 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 28 |
| 1959-60 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 67 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 157 |
| 1960-61 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 65 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 138 |
| 1961-62 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 59 | 18 | 41 | 59 | 151 |
| 1962-63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 105 |
| 1963-64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 27 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 38 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 43 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 |
| 1964-65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 129 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 97 |
| 1966-67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 11 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 6 |
| 1966-67 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 39 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 48 |
| 1967-68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 36 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 46 |
| 1967-68 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 40 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 80 |
| 1968-69 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 2 | 29 | 31 | 97 |
| 1969-70 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 64 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 145 |
| 1970-71 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 71 | 9 | 36 | 45 | 72 |
| 1971-72 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 75 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 130 |
| 1972-73 | Long Island Ducks | EHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972-73 | New York Raiders | WHA | 60 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 74 |
| 1973-74 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 71 | 7 | 46 | 53 | 176 |
| 1974-75 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 37 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 67 |
| 1974-75 | Toledo Goaldiggers | IHL | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| 1975-76 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 66 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 140 |
| NHL Totals | 428 | 33 | 115 | 148 | 631 | ||
| WHA Totals | 60 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 74 |