Oleksandr Olehovych Hodyniuk , known commonly as Alexander Godynyuk is a retired Ukrainian

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

 professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenceman

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

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

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft

1990 NHL Entry Draft

The 1990 National Hockey League Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 16, 1990...

.

Godynyuk played parts of five seasons in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 before coming to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 to join the Maple Leaf organization. He made his NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 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

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

 in a ten-player deal which brought Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour

Douglas Robert Gilmour is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who is the current general manager of the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League . During his National Hockey League career, Gilmour played for 7 NHL clubs: the St...

 to Toronto.

Godynyuk was selected from the Flames by the Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...

 in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft

1993 NHL Expansion Draft

The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 24, 1993, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place 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.-Rules:...

. He would move on to the Hartford Whalers

Hartford Whalers

The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...

 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

Chicago Wolves

The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...

 for one season, and then went to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to play in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

's Nationalliga A and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before retiring following the 2000–01 season.

In his NHL career, Godynyuk played in 223 games. He recorded ten goals and 39 assists.

He has two daughters called Lizzy and Paulina.

Awards and honors

• Directorate Award (Best Defenseman) and All-Star Selection, 1990 IIHF world junior hockey championships

External links