Alexander Godynyuk

Oleksandr Olehovych Hodyniuk (Олександр Олегович Годинюк; born January 27, 1970), known commonly as Alexander Godynyuk is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the sixth round, 115th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

Career
Godynyuk played parts of five seasons in the Soviet Union before coming to North America 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 in a ten-player deal which brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto.

Godynyuk was selected from the Flames by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. He would move on to the Hartford Whalers midway through the 1993–94 season, and would stay there for the remainder of his NHL career.

The Phoenix Coyotes played their first game in franchise history against the Whalers on October 5, 1996. In that game, Godynyuk scored the first goal ever against the Coyotes.

Godynyuk left the NHL after the 1996–97 season. He played in the International Hockey League with the Chicago Wolves for one season, and then went to Europe to play in Switzerland's Nationalliga A and Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before retiring following the 2000–01 season.

Godynyuk represented Ukraine at the 1999 IIHF World Championship.

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 championships