2026 Malcolm Greene Chace Award Recipient.
Jean Guay was born and raised in Bellingham, MA, and attended Mount St. Charles Academy, where he was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1948. Four years later, he graduated summa cum laude from Providence College and then from Albany Medical College in 1956.
After serving two years in the Air Force as a commissioned officer, Dr. Guay began an orthopedic residency at the VA Hospital in Roxbury, MA, before returning home to open a private orthopedic practice and serve as Health Director for the City of Woonsocket.
Dr. Guay grew up loving hockey and cheering for his high school hockey team. So, it was with great pride when he was appointed team doctor for his alma mater, a position he held for 50 years. Over that time, he was a fixture at Mount’s games, tending to the medical and orthopedic needs of countless Mount players, including future NHLers who praised him for his contributions.
Larry Kish, the coach he first played under, called him Mount’s “unsung hero”. NHL star Brian Boucher has said “without Dr. Guay’s care and guidance, I believe the Mount’s history would have been written much differently than it is today”. And Hall of Famer, Mathieu Schneider let it be known that “Dr Guay was especially important to my career. He was always there for me and each and every high school player who jumped onto the ice.”
Indeed, while coaches like Kiish and Bill Belisle took care of their players’ on-ice performance, Dr Guay took care of their off-ice health and rehab. And while Doc’s primary loyalty was to Mount St Charles, he did not discriminate. His reputation was wide spread – helping players from all of the high schools and youth programs in northern RI, as well as from the Mount’s fiercest rivals, like LaSalle and Bishop Hendricken, to heal them and give them the “green light” to get back on the ice.
A 2012 inductee of the Mount’s Hall of Fame, Dr Guay was one of the founders of the Mount’s Booster Club and a founding member of the Rhode Island Kings youth hockey program.
Doc and wife, Marilyn, had five sons (all talented hockey players), two daughters, and the love of twenty-four grandchildren. Four of their children followed him into medical practice. Two daughters and one son became doctors, one daughter became a nurse; and another son, Paul, is a former professional hockey player and an honored member of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.
For all he has done for Mount St. Charles and all of the high school and youth hockey programs in northern RI, we are pleased to recognize and honor him with the Malcolm Greene Chace Memorial Trophy for “lifetime of selfless contributions to Rhode Island hockey.”
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