Marcel Pronovost, a slick-skating, tough-checking defenseman who played on five Stanley Cup championship teams and earned a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, died on Sunday in Windsor, Ontario. He was 84.
The New Jersey Devils, for whom Pronovost was a longtime scout, reported the death on their website. No cause was given.
Pronovost (pronounced in the French manner, PRO-nuh-voh) was a National Hockey League champion before he ever played in a regular-season game. He made his first N.H.L. appearance during the playoffs in 1950 when, at age 19, the Detroit Red Wings called him up from their affiliate team in Omaha after their emerging star Gordie Howe was injured.