Defenceman Bill MacKenzie played nearly 300 games for three different teams in the 1930s and '40s. Although he had a decent shot from the point, his main role was to play the man in his own zone and move the puck up to his forwards.
The Winnipeg native played junior with the local Elmwoods before spending a year with the senior Montreal AAA. In 1932-33, he looked solid as a rookie with the Chicago Black Hawks. After signing as a free agent with the Montreal Maroons, he spent a little over a year stabilizing their blueline. Mackenzie also toiled for the Canadiens and the New York Rangers before returning to Chicago in a deal for Marty Burke in December 1937.
The veteran rearguard tried to sort the Hawks' struggling blueline then was as shocked as everyone else in hockey when they left their poor regular season behind and won the Stanley Cup. After playing 19 games for the Hawks in 1939-40, Mackenzie spent the rest of his playing days in the AHL. After serving his country for a year in World War II, he returned to play 13 games for the Cleveland Barons in 1944-45 before retiring
