Orest Kindrachuk

Orest Kindrachuk
Born (1950-09-14) September 14, 1950
Nanton, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1971–1982

Orest Michael Kindrachuk (born September 14, 1950) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Washington Capitals.

Early life

Kindrachuk was born on September 14, 1950, in Nanton, Alberta, Canada[1] to parents Natalie and Fred.[2] He is of Ukrainian descent.[3] After living in Alberta for one year, Kindrachuk's family moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[4]

Playing career

Amateur

Kindrachuk began playing ice hockey at the age of seven with the Victoria Campbell's in the Playgrounds Hockey League. He then spent two years in the Kinsmen Pee-Wee Hockey League before advancing to the midget level for another two seasons.[4] While playing with the Black Hawks Pee Wee team, Kindrachuk won the 1965 Ray Dickson trophy as the league's best scorer.[5] After playing a season of junior hockey, Kindrachuk joined the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).[4] While he had been offered scholarships to American post-secondary schools, he chose to remain in Saskatchewan to study ophthalmology.[6]

As a rookie centreman for the Blades in the 1967–68 season, he scored 25 goals and 37 assists.[1] His production dipped the following year due to an off-ice head injury.[7][4] Even once he returned to the ice, Kindrachuk left numerous games mid-contest due to blackout issues. Despite undergoing clinical tests, no medical explanation could be given for these issues.[7] Kindrachuk chose to forgo the majority of the 1969–70 season to focus on his studies at the University of Saskatchewan.[6] When speaking of this choice, Blades general manager and head coach George Agar said: "he feels, that he has to give his course (optometry) a fair shake...and that means no hockey."[8] Despite going undrafted in the 1969 NHL amateur draft, the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers placed Kindrachuk on their protected player list.[9]

Kindrachuk returned to the Blades for the 1970–71 season as team captain and set numerous personal scoring milestones. After the team started the season with a losing record, Kindrachuk found success on a line with Laurie Yaworski and Dennis Abgrall. In their first eight games together, the team won five games and the trio combined for 67 points.[10] Despite missing three games in January due to an injury,[11] Kindrachuk maintained his league scoring lead.[12] He scored four points on January 26, 1971, against the Medicine Hat Tigers to reach the 100-point plateau.[13] Kindrachuk finished the regular season with 49 goals and 100 assists for 149 points,[14] and was named team MVP.[15]

Professional

Kindrachuk was not drafted and instead joined the San Diego Gulls after signing as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers in July 1971. He made his NHL debut in the 1972–73 season, and joined the Flyers full-time in the 1973–74 season.

Kindrachuk became an important part of the Flyers team as he helped them to win Stanley Cups as a rookie in 1974 as well as 1975. "Little O" Kindrachuk spent much of his time in Philadelphia centering Dave "The Hammer" Schultz and Don "Big Bird" Saleski on the team's third line. He played for the Flyers for six seasons.

Kindrachuk was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 1978–79 NHL season, where he played for three seasons as the team's captain. He signed with the Washington Capitals in 1981, but played only four games before he was forced to retire due to injuries.

Personal life

Kindrachuk and his wife Lynn have two sons together.[16] Following his retirement, Kindrachuk went into the insurance and packaging industry in the Philadelphia area.[17] He also became a U.S. citizen.[18] In 1999, Kindrachuk was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967–68 Saskatoon Blades WCJHL 58 24 37 61 44 7 1 3 4 20
1968–69 Saskatoon Blades WCHL 41 21 25 46 33 4 1 1 2 0
1969–70 Saskatoon Blades WCHL 4 3 4 7 5 5 2 4 6 25
1970–71 Saskatoon Blades WCHL 61 49 100 149 103 5 2 4 6 25
1971–72 San Diego Gulls WHL 61 18 36 54 77 4 1 1 2 0
1972–73 Richmond Robins AHL 72 35 51 86 133 3 0 1 1 10
1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1973–74 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 11 30 41 85 17 5 4 9 17
1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 60 10 21 31 72 14 0 2 2 12
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 26 49 75 101 16 4 7 11 4
1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 15 36 51 79 10 2 1 3 0
1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 17 45 62 128 12 5 5 10 13
1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 79 18 42 60 84 7 4 1 5 7
1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 52 17 29 46 63 — — — — —
1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 13 3 9 12 34 — — — — —
1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 4 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 508 118 261 379 648 76 20 20 40 53

References

  1. ^ a b "Orest Kindrachuk". Elite Prospects. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  2. ^ Burke, Tim (May 9, 1974). "Rookie Kindrachuk becomes brainy catalyst for Flyers". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Flyers promise hard knocks for Russians". The Mississippi Press. January 11, 1976. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Mainman, Brian (December 19, 1968). "S-P sportlight follows Orest Kindrachuk". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Casey Named Top Pee Wee". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. April 20, 1965. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Poling, Jim (February 11, 1971). "Schooling part of Blade program". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Cook, Jack (February 4, 1969). "Injury sidelines Kindrachuk". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Mainman, Brian (September 30, 1969). "Agar keeps eye peeled". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Larson, Scott (June 22, 1999). "Passion for game was always there". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Stevens, Larry (December 18, 1970). "Kindrachuk spectacular in leading Blade surge". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Stevens, Larry (January 6, 1971). "Bingo! Blades strike jackpot". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Kindrachuk, Yaworsky mow down opposition". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. January 13, 1971. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Blades' Kindrachuk scores 100th point". Calgary Herald. January 27, 1971. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Stevens, Larry (March 17, 1971). "Blades power play potent". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Saskatoon Blades award winners". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. March 17, 1971. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Narducci, Marc (October 8, 1999). "Soccer sport of choice for Kindrachuks". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Gormley, Chuck (February 20, 1994). "Kindrachuk anxious to repay debts". Courier-Post. Retrieved August 30, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Broad Street Bullies are becoming U.S. citizens". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 17, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Zary, Darren (October 30, 1999). "Hall of Fame inductees span wide world of sports". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
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