Oleksandr Olehovych Hodyniuk ( uk, Олександр Олегович Годинюк; born January 27, 1970), known commonly as ''Alexander Godynyuk'' is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

. He was drafted in the sixth round, 115th overall, by 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 ...

in the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

Career

Godynyuk played parts of five seasons in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

before coming to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

to join the Maple Leaf organization. He made his NHL debut for Toronto in the 1990–91 season, appearing in 18 games. He played in 31 more games for the Maple Leafs in the 1991–92 season before being traded to the

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 in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

in a ten-player deal which brought

Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. ...

to Toronto. Godynyuk was selected from the Flames by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home g ...

in the

1993 NHL Expansion Draft The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 1993–94 season, the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The draft took pl ...

. He would move on to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

midway through the 1993–94 season, and would stay there for the remainder of his NHL career. Godynyuk left the NHL after the 1996–97 season. He played in the International Hockey League with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

for one season, and then went to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to play in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

's Nationalliga A and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

before retiring following the 2000–01 season. Godynyuk represented Ukraine at the

1999 IIHF World Championship The 1999 IIHF World Championship was held in Oslo, Hamar and Lillehammer in Norway from 1 to 16 May. It was the top tier of the men's championships for that year. Venues World Championship Group A Qualifying Round Three qualifying tour ...

. In his NHL career, Godynyuk played in 223 games. He recorded ten goals and 39 assists. He has two daughters who are named Elizabeth and Paulina.

Awards and honors

*Directorate Award (Best Defenseman) and All-Star Selection, 1990 IIHF world junior hockey championshipsCollins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.521, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada,

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1970 births Calgary Flames players Chicago Wolves (IHL) players Detroit Vipers players Eisbären Berlin players Florida Panthers players Hartford Whalers players Living people Minnesota Moose players Newmarket Saints players Ice hockey people from Kyiv Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Sokil Kyiv players Soviet expatriate ice hockey players Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Canada Soviet ice hockey defencemen SC Bern players Springfield Falcons players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Ukraine men's national ice hockey team coaches Ukrainian ice hockey defencemen Ukrainian ice hockey coaches Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Ukrainian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Germany {{Ukraine-icehockey-bio-stub