David Allan Hoyda (May 20, 1957 – February 8, 2015) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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. Hoyda played four seasons 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) with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

and

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

. He was known primarily as an

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. Hoyda was raised in

Cherhill, Alberta Cherhill is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Lac Ste. Anne County. It is located along Highway 43, approximately east of Mayerthorpe and northwest of Edmonton. The hamlet is located in census division No. 13. The first syllable of the ...

, and later attended

St. Francis Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

in Edmonton while he played Canadian Junior "A" hockey with the

Spruce Grove Mets The St. Albert Saints were a junior ice hockey franchise based in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, for twenty-seven seasons from 1977 to 2004. Before 1977, the team played in nearby Spruce Grove as the Spruce Grove Mets, and in 2004 the team again m ...

. Hoyda and the Mets won the 1975 Canadian Junior "A" national championship. He moved up to Major Junior hockey for his next two seasons, playing with the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

/ Portland Winterhawks (franchise moved). Hoyda was drafted in both 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) ...

and NHL Amateur Drafts in 1977, signing a contract with the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* 1957 births 2015 deaths Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Edmonton Mets players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Edmonton Oilers (WHA) draft picks Maine Mariners (AHL) players Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Portland Winterhawks players Ice hockey people from Edmonton Spruce Grove Mets players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players {{canada-icehockey-winger-1950s-stub