Orest Kindrachuk

Orest Michael Kindrachuk, a Canadian-American professional ice hockey centre, was born September 14, 1950, in Nanton, Alberta, Canada, to parents Natalie and Fred, and is of Ukrainian descent. After the family spent one year in Alberta, they moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where he was raised.

Kindrachuk began playing ice hockey at age 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 two further seasons. While playing for the Black Hawks Pee Wee team, he won the 1965 Ray Dickson trophy as the league's best scorer. After a season of junior hockey, he joined the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, beginning with the 1967–68 season. Though offered scholarships to American post-secondary schools, he chose to remain in Saskatchewan to study ophthalmology.

Kindrachuk went on to play ten seasons in the National Hockey League as a centre, suiting up for the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Washington Capitals.