Mario Marois
A durable and tough NHL defenseman who logged over 800 games for five different teams, known for his steady, physical presence.
Born 1957 (age 69)·Canadian former ice hockey defenceman·Birthday: December 15·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mario Marois didn't chase scoring titles; his job was to prevent them. Drafted into the WHA before merging into the NHL, the Quebec-born defenseman built a 14-season career on reliability and grit. He was a constant on blue lines for the Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres, embodying the role of a stay-at-home defender in an era increasingly focused on offense. Marois played with a quiet efficiency, using his positioning and physicality to break up plays rather than flashy end-to-end rushes. His longevity and adaptability, suiting up for nearly 900 professional games, speak to a player valued by coaches and teammates for doing the hard, unglamorous work required to win.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mario was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mario Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Mario's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Played 888 games in the NHL and WHA combined over a professional career spanning from 1977 to 1991.
- Represented Canada in the 1977 World Junior Championships.
- Served as an alternate captain for the Quebec Nordiques during his tenure with the team.
Did You Know?
He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1977.
Marois scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in his first shift with the Quebec Nordiques.
He was traded from the Rangers to the Jets in 1983 for a first-round draft pick (which became David Shaw).
“My job was simple: keep the puck out of our net, by any means.”
