Dan McGillis, Class of 1997, has been elected to the Northeastern University Hall of Fame for excellence in the sport of ice hockey. He was the most bruising defenseman of his era and finished with All-America honors.
McGillis, a native of Hawkesbury, Ontario, played three years for the Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Junior Hockey League. In his second season he was voted Most Improved and made the All-Star team. In his final year he was voted the league’s Best Defenseman, and again to the All-Star Team. He also was named the Most Valuable Player in the league playoffs.
McGillis was to be the first major recruit by the Huskies’ second year coach, Ben Smith. At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, he was an imposing defender with an enforcer’s demeanor and sniper’s hands. Throughout his career he would average over 30 minutes per game on regular shift, power play and penalty killing units. His freshman year, he had five goals and 12 assists for 17 points. He was voted Northeastern’s Rookie of the Year and to the Hockey East All-Rookie team. The team went 10-24-1.
His sophomore season, McGillis’s production jumped to four goals and 25 assists for 29 points. The Huskies went 19-13-7, made the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years.
The 1994-95 season, his junior year, McGillis had developed into one of the best all-around defensemen in the nation. Possessing the hardest slapshot in Hockey East, he scored nine goals and had 22 assists for 31 points. The team enjoyed another winning campaign at 16-14-5, and McGillis was voted All-New England and All-Hockey East.
McGillis faced a big decision senior season. The Detroit Red Wings, who had drafted him, made him a lucrative offer to turn pro. However, the newly elected captain turned them down to spend his final season on Huntington Ave. The season was a difficult one for NU; they slumped to 10-21-5, but qualified for the Hockey East playoffs for the fourth straight year. McGillis led the Huskies to the 1996 Beanpot final and, despite his two first-period slapshot goals, they bowed to BU. That final year he was garnished with all the accolades: All-New England, All-Hockey East and All-America. He was also voted team MVP and New England’s Most Outstanding Defenseman.
His career proved he was an “iron man,” playing in 141 of a possible 143 games. His 30 goals and 83 assists for 113 points ranks him the fourth-highest scoring defenseman and the 31st overall in the NU archives.
Last winter, McGillis was voted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame and to the 12-man Hockey East All-Northeastern team celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hockey East.
McGillis went on to play for five NHL teams, including the Boston Bruins, from 1996-2006. He scored 56 goals with 182 assists for 238 points and posted 570 penalty minutes in 634 regular-season games.
