John Mariucci - Born May 8, 1916 in Eveleth, Minnesota - Died March 23, 1987 in Minneapolis, Minnesota was an American ice Hockey defenceman, administrator and coach.

Mariucci attended the University of Minnesota where he played for both the Hockey and football teams. He was named an All-American in Hockey in 1940, leading his Hockey squad to an undefeated AAU championship.

Mariucci was inducted into the inaugural 1973 class of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1985.

The University of Minnesota honored him by first renaming the Hockey arena in Williams Arena after him and later when a new Hockey arena was opened in 1993, the school transferred his name to that one as well, Mariucci Arena. In 1983, the John Mariucci Award, began to be awarded to the Minnesota High school coach of the year, as selected by the state's Hockey coaches. Mariucci is immortalized as the "Godfather of Minnesota Hockey"

As admirable a player as he was, Mariucci's true calling was as a coach and nurturer of talent. He took over as coach of the University of Minnesota Hockey team and immediately declined to recruit players from Canada. An important part of this emphasis on home grown talent was a challenge sent out by Mariucci to high schools throughout the state to start their own programs and develop interest in their respective communities. Between 1952 and 1980 the number of high school teams grew from a handful to more than 150.