Walter Michael Poddubny (February 14, 1960 – March 21, 2009) 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 ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 h ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and coach who played eleven 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) from 1981–82 until 1991–92. He played 468 career NHL games, scoring 184 goals and 238 assists for 422 points.

Career

Poddubny was drafted 90th overall by the

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 ...

in the

1980 NHL Entry Draft The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was the 18th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum. This was the first time that an NHL arena hosted the draft.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.241, Published in Canada by Doubled ...

. He spent most of the 1981–82 season with the

Wichita Wind The Wichita Wind were a minor league ice hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas from 1980 to 1983. They were the feeder team of the Edmonton Oilers (1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons) and the New Jersey Devils (1982–83). The Wind played in the Centr ...

where he had 35 goals and 46 assists in 60 games. He was traded along with Phil Drouillard from the

Oilers Oiler may refer to: Ships * Replenishment oiler * Tanker (ship) Sports * Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team * City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team * Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...

to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for

Laurie Boschman Laurie Joseph Boschman (born June 4, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 14 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils and Ottawa ...

on March 8, 1982. He was acquired by 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 home ...

from the

Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for Mike Allison on August 18, 1986, in a trade considered to be

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...

's best during his three years as the team's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. Poddubny was the leading scorer in each of his only two Rangers campaigns, with 87 points (40 goals, 47 assists) in 1986–87 and 88 (38 goals, 50 assists) the following season. He was the recipient of the New York Rangers Fan Club's Frank Boucher Trophy for the most popular player on and off the ice in both years, and the team's Most Valuable Player Award from the Professional Hockey Writers Association in 1987. Despite coming off a season as the Rangers' top scorer, he was traded along with Jari Grönstrand, Bruce Bell and a fourth-round selection in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft (76th overall–

Éric Dubois Éric Dubois (born May 10, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 500 career games in the American Hockey League (AHL), International Hockey League (IHL) and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He is currently ...

) to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

for Normand Rochefort and

Jason Lafreniere Jason Lafrenière (born December 6, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 146 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques between 1986 and 1994 ...

on August 1, 1988. Esposito felt the team needed to improve its defense after losing 17 games by one goal and missing the playoffs. He was also disappointed with Poddubny's failure to win

face-off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

s, while head coach Michel Bergeron expressed displeasure with the quality of his checking game. Following a productive season in 1988–89 with the Nordiques that saw Poddubny score 38 goals in 72 games played, his playing career began to decline from damaged knees. After his lone season with the Nordiques, Poddubny was sent to the New Jersey Devils for

Claude Loiselle Claude Loiselle (born May 29, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1981 to 1994. Playing career As a youth, Loiselle played in the 1975 Quebec International Pee ...

and

Joe Cirella Joseph Cirella (born May 9, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in 828 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has additionally served as assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Oshawa Generals ...

on June 17, 1989. After his career in the NHL, Poddubny coached several hockey teams including six seasons as head coach of the

Anchorage Aces The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championship f ...

. Life after the NHL wasn't easy for him, and he once said, "People think if you played in the NHL, you're set for life. It's not like that for everyone." Poddubny died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 49, after collapsing at his sister's house in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

Career statistics

Ice hockey

Roller hockey

Coaching

‡ - Midseason Replacement

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poddubny, Walt 1960 births 2009 deaths Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Kingston Canadians players Kitchener Rangers players Las Vegas Flash players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players National Hockey League All-Stars New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players Orlando Rollergators players Quebec Nordiques players St. Catharines Saints players Ice hockey people from Thunder Bay Toronto Maple Leafs players Utica Devils players Wichita Wind players Worcester IceCats players