Alex McKendry (born November 21, 1956) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. He played 46 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

and

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

from 1978 to 1981. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1976 to 1983, was primarily spent in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. He was a first round selection of the Islanders, taken 14th overall in the

1976 NHL Amateur Draft The 1976 NHL Amateur Draft was the 14th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec, on June 1, 1976. It's notable as featuring one of the weakest first rounds in draft history, as only two players ( Rick Green and Bernie F ...

. He appeared in six playoff games in the Islanders'

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championship season of 1979–80. McKendry's most significant time in the NHL came in 1980–81 when he appeared in 36 games for the Flames.

Playing career

McKendry, a native of

Midland, Ontario Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Huronia/Wendat region of Central Ontario. Located at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, ...

, played three seasons of junior hockey for the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

of the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...

(OMJHL). His best with the Wolves was in 1975–76 when he had 43 goals and 102 points in the regular season and added 12 points in 16 playoff games. The Wolves reached the OMJHL championship series, where they were defeated by the

Hamilton Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

. McKendry was voted to the league's third all-star team. The

selected McKendry with their first round selection, 14th overall, at the

. Additionally, he was selected by the Indianapolis Racers of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA), 15th overall, in its 1976 Amateur Draft. He chose the NHL over the WHA, and though he impressed team officials in his first training camp, the Islanders assigned McKendry to their

(CHL) affiliate, the Fort Worth Texans. He appeared in 65 games in Fort Worth, scoring 7 goals and 14 assists. He made his NHL debut in 1977–78, appearing in four games with the Islanders, but spent the majority of the season in Fort Worth where the Texans won the Adams Cup as league champions. McKendry again spent most of the 1979–80 season in the CHL, as a member of the Indianapolis Checkers, where he was named a league all-star after scoring 40 goals and 77 points. He was recalled by the Islanders during the

1980 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Stanley Cup playoffs, playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 8, after the conclusion of the 1979–80 NHL season. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded Worl ...

following an injury to team star

Mike Bossy Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...

. He scored the first two goals of his NHL career on April 12, 1980, against the Los Angeles Kings as part of a 6–0 victory that allowed the Islanders to win their preliminary round series. He appeared in six playoff games, adding two assists to his two goals, as the Islanders won their first

championship. The

acquired McKendry prior to the 1980–81 season, trading a third round selection in the

1981 NHL Entry Draft Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Fr ...

on October 9, 1980. He enjoyed his most significant time in the NHL that season, appearing in 36 games with Calgary, scoring 3 goals and 6 assists. He was playing with the Flames' CHL affiliate, the Birmingham Bulls, when the team folded mid-season in February 1981 due to financial difficulty. He was assigned to the Fort Worth Texans for the remainder of the season. McKendry never returned to the NHL. He played two additional seasons in the Flames system – 1981–82 with the

Oklahoma City Stars The Oklahoma City Stars are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma City University, located in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAI ...

and 1982–83 with the Colorado Flames – after which he retired as a player.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

*Career statistics:

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKendry, Alex 1956 births Birmingham Bulls (CHL) players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey forwards Colorado Flames players Fort Worth Texans players Ice hockey people from Ontario Indianapolis Checkers (CHL) players Indianapolis Racers draft picks Living people Muskegon Mohawks players NHL first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Oklahoma City Stars players People from Midland, Ontario Stanley Cup champions Sudbury Wolves players