Pat Stapleton was 79 when he died of a stroke ©Hockey Hall of Fame

Canadian ice hockey player Pat Stapleton, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the age of 79 after suffering a stroke.

After an NHL playing career with the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 after playing 15 matches for his nation in 1972 and 1974.

He also competed in the World Hockey Association after leaving the Blackhawks, playing five of the seven seasons that the league ran for when it challenged the NHL in the 1970s.

Stapleton was also integral in administrative roles, acting as the lead organiser for Team Canada for the 50th anniversary celebrations, set for 2022, of the 1972 Summit Series victory.

He was part of the team that defeated the Soviet Union that year in the eight-game Summit Series, often attributed as the start of the nation's rise in ice hockey.

His fame from the eighth game came when he decided to pick up the puck after Canada's victory while his team-mates celebrated their win.