David Murray Dryden (September 5, 1941 – October 4, 2022) was a Canadian 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...

, who created and first used the modern goaltending mask, consisting of fibreglass and a cage. From 1962 to 1980, he played nine seasons in the

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

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

, and

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, and in 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) ...

between 1974 and 1979 with the

Chicago Cougars The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's ...

and Edmonton Oilers, as well as for other smaller teams in other minor leagues.

Early life

Dryden was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, on September 5, 1941. His father,

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, worked as a brick salesman and became a philanthropist; his mother, Margaret (Campbell), was a kindergarten teacher. He was the older brother of

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...

. Dryden began his junior career with the Aurora Bears in 1958, before playing two seasons for the St. Michael's Majors of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA). He then joined the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

in 1961.

Professional career

Dryden played in the

(NHL) and

(WHA) from 1962 to 1979, playing for the

, and

. He made his NHL debut on February 3, 1962, with the Rangers, serving as an emergency backup for

Gump Worsley Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (May 14, 1929 – January 26, 2007) was a professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, 'Gump' was given his nickname because friends thought he looked like comic-strip character Andy Gump. ...

. On March 20, 1971, in a game between his Sabres and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, Dryden faced his brother

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

, the first time in the history of the NHL that brothers opposed each other as goalies. The brothers met again five more times. Dryden's best years came in the WHA, while playing for the Oilers. Of all the Oilers' goaltenders during their membership in the WHA, he played the most games (197) and earned the most wins (94). He was the goalie against whom

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

scored his first professional goalduring Gretzky's short stint with the

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are ...

, before quickly becoming Dryden's teammate with the Oilers.The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.224, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, Dryden won the

Ben Hatskin Trophy The Ben Hatskin Trophy was presented annually to the World Hockey Association's best goaltender. It was named in honour of Ben Hatskin, who founded the Winnipeg Jets. Ben Hatskin Trophy winners were: *1973 – Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland Cru ...

as the WHA's top goaltender and the Gordie Howe Trophy as league MVP in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. Two years prior, Dryden designed the first mask-cage combination goalie mask; maskmaker Greg Harrison transferred his design drawings into a final product which Dryden wore for the Oilers. The mask is on display at the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

in Toronto. The mask-cage combination goalie mask is now the norm in modern hockey.

Personal life

Dryden was married to Sandra for 59 years until his death. Together, they had two children. He was the brother of

. He was the chair person of Sleeping Children Around the World charity (founded by his father) which provides bed kits to children in developing countries. Dryden died on October 4, 2022, at the age of 81, from complications following a surgery for

chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a long-term disease caused by a blockage in the blood vessels that deliver blood from the heart to the lungs ( the pulmonary arterial tree). These blockages cause increased resistance to flow ...

. Sleeping Children Around the World and the

announced that they would be launching a donation initiative in his name to provide bed kits to children in developing countries.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Dave 1941 births 2022 deaths Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian people of Scottish descent Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Cougars players Dallas Black Hawks players Detroit Red Wings coaches Edmonton Oilers (WHA) players Edmonton Oilers coaches Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Ontario New York Rangers players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Peterborough Petes coaches Rochester Americans players Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL) players Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Marlboros players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players