Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 8, 2026

Stan Jonathan

Stanley Carl "Bulldog" Jonathan is an Indigenous Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He is best known for playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom he played for parts of eight seasons, and featured in two Stanley Cup Finals. He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1982-83.

Last revised
Jul 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 6 min
Length
1,265 w
Citations
20
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Stan Jonathan
Jonathan in 1980
Born (1955-09-05) September 5, 1955
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL draft 86th overall, 1975
Boston Bruins
WHA draft 103rd overall, 8th round, 1975
Indianapolis Racers
Playing career 1975–1983

Stanley Carl "Bulldog" Jonathan (born September 5, 1955) is an Indigenous Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He is best known for playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom he played for parts of eight seasons, and featured in two Stanley Cup Finals (1977, 1978). He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1982-83.

Playing career

Stan Jonathan was drafted in the fifth round (86th overall) of the 1975 NHL entry draft by the Bruins. Ignored by most other scouts and by Bruins general manager Harry Sinden, Jonathan was picked up thanks to the shrewdness of Don Cherry, who had seen him play with the Peterborough Petes earlier that season, Jonathan's third season in Peterborough.1 Cherry stated later that the proudest discovery of his hockey career was Stan Jonathan.1

While Jonathan played with Peterborough, they represented Canada well as they placed third at the first unofficial world junior championship in 1973–1974.2

Jonathan started his NHL career with one game in the 1975–76 NHL season, before being called up permanently for the 1976–77 season. He typified Bruins hockey, displaying both outstanding offensive ability and toughness. Jonathan was adept at knocking in rebounds, and Cherry, his coach at the time, stated that he had the most accurate shot in the league.3 As a rookie, he led all NHL players in shooting percentage, putting goals in at a clip of 23.9%.1 That year, 1977–78, was his most productive season as he scored 27 goals with 25 assists. He also had 116 penalty minutes that year.2 his second season, he was again among the top-ten players in shooting percentage, at 22.3%.1 That year he won the Bruins' "7th Player Award" voted on by the fans for the player who exceeded expectations.

Besides his scoring touch, Jonathan was also a capable enforcer, having fought Keith Magnuson, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, and Andre "Moose" Dupont. Arguably Jonathan's most famous moment4 was his savage beating of Pierre Bouchard in a brawl during game four of the 1978 Stanley Cup Finals. Challenged by Bouchard, who outweighed Jonathan by thirty pounds and stood six inches taller, Jonathan held his own, breaking Bouchard's nose and cheekbone and knocking him to the ice.1

His 1978–79 season was shortened by an injury, but Jonathan played in all 11 playoff games of 1979. Jonathan scored a hat-trick in game six of Boston's semifinal series versus Montreal, contributing to a 5–2 win in game six of the semi-finals against the Montreal Canadiens, which forced a game seven.5 He returned the following year and scored 21 goals and 19 assists. He also added 208 penalty minutes.2

The Bruins traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 8, 1982, in exchange for cash. Jonathan played 19 games for Pittsburgh and retired after the 1983 season. He finished his NHL career with 91 goals and 110 assists in 411 games.2

Personal

Jonathan is a full-blooded Tuscarora,6 born in Ohsweken, Ontario, part of the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. After his playing days were over, Jonathan stayed in the Boston area with his wife Cathy and two children Carl and Brandi. After twenty years, the family moved to Six Nations and built a house.7 Jonathan worked in construction, coaching, running a tent-rental business, and driving a snow plow.8

Jonathan was charged with criminal negligence in a hunting accident on the Six Nations reserve that killed Peter Kosid of Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday, November 11, 2012.9 Kosid was illegally bow hunting on the reserve without permission and without proper reflective hunting gear. The criminal charges were later withdrawn.10 After first filing a lawsuit against Jonathan, Kosid's family later settled with Jonathan's insurance company.

Legacy

In 2023, he was named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.11

Peterborough sports writer Don Barrie wrote in 2021 that Jonathan was one of the Petes' "all-time fan favourites".12

Jonathan has been an inspiration to other Indigenous hockey players, including Gino Odjick.7

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1972–73 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 63 14 35 49 107 — — — — —
1973–74 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 70 19 33 52 127 11 4 5 9 14
1974–75 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 70 36 39 75 138 11 4 5 9 14
1975–76 Rochester Americans AHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1975–76 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1975–76 Dayton Gems IHL 69 26 47 73 192 15 13 8 21 54
1976–77 Rochester Americans AHL 3 0 0 0 7 — — — — —
1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 69 17 13 30 69 14 4 2 6 24
1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 68 27 25 52 116 15 0 1 1 36
1978–79 Boston Bruins NHL 33 6 9 15 96 11 4 1 5 12
1979–80 Boston Bruins NHL 79 21 19 40 208 9 0 0 0 29
1980–81 Boston Bruins NHL 74 14 24 38 192 3 0 0 0 30
1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 67 6 17 23 57 11 0 0 0 6
1982–83 Boston Bruins NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1982–83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 19 0 3 3 13 — — — — —
1982–83 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 48 13 23 36 86 — — — — —
1985–86 Brantford Motts Clamatos OHA-Sr. — — — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Brantford Motts Clamatos OHA-Sr. 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 411 91 110 201 751 63 8 4 12 137

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1974 Canada WJC 5 0 0 0 8
Junior totals 5 0 0 0 8
References

References

  1. "Stan Jonathan". GreatestHockeyLegends.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Stan Jonathan". www.legendsofhockey.net. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  3. davey boy phelan (December 9, 2012). "They Call me Chief Ch 03 of 09". Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2017 – via YouTube.
  4. Boston Herald (February 19, 2014), Boston Herald Talk of the Town : Former Boston Bruin Stan Jonathan, archived from the original on December 13, 2021, retrieved March 25, 2017
  5. Network, Canadian Heritage Information. "Stan Jonathan". www.virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  6. King, C. Richard (March 10, 2015). Native Americans in Sports. Routledge. ISBN 9781317464037.
  7. Sicinski, Larry (September 7, 1994). "Jonathan blazes trail to the NHL". The Hamilton Spectator. p. C4.
  8. Clairmont, Susan (January 23, 2016). "Stan is a legend on the reserve. He is the local boy who made it big". The Spectator. p. A12.
  9. "Former NHL player Stan Jonathan charged in fatal hunting accident on Six Nations reserve - Toronto Star". TheStar.com. November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  10. Peeling, Mike (April 3, 2015). "Ex-NHL player's charges dropped in 'tragic' hunting death". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  11. Bruins Announce “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal
  12. Barrie, Don (March 13, 2021). "A list of top 10 all-time Petes fan favourites". Peterborough Examiner. p. A14.
External links