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The Dave Andreychuk Foundation
Dave’s dad Julian remembers a time during Dave’s first year with the Generals that he became “a little homesick”. There was a knock on the Andreychuk’s back door and there on the back porch was Dave. Sixteen years old and homesick. His mom ushered him in, fed him a home cooked meal and Dave spent the night at home. In the morning his dad sent him back to Oshawa!
In Dave's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, are a pair of knee braces that Dave wore from the second year of his NHL career. They are hanging in the arena named for him, The Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena, and it is hoped that these braces will remind others that anything is possible!
Dave was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres from the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft and played his first NHL season in 1982–83. He went on to play 11 seasons in Buffalo before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leaf team. He played for the Leafs until the 1995–96 when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils, where he stayed until 1999.
After New Jersey, he had short stints with the Boston Bruins (1999–2000), Colorado Avalanche (2000), and Buffalo Sabres (2000–01), before settling with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02 to 2005–06).
Dave's best seasons offensively were in 1992–93 and 1993–94 when, with Toronto, he posted 99 points in each season. The 1993 and 1994 playoffs also saw the Maple Leafs advance to the Conference Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively.
Our Founder
When Dave was a youth, he played a variety of sports, including lacrosse, baseball, football, table tennis and, of course, hockey.
When he was thirteen years old, he was the smallest guy on his hockey team!
Dave never expected to become a professional hockey player, but it was his dream!
The weekend of the Major Junior Hockey League Draft, Dave was working his weekend job for a local veterinarian when a surprise call came to let him know he was drafted in the 6th round by the Oshawa Generals! Much hard work and sacrifice had paid off.
Dave enjoys spending time with his family, golfing and representing the Tampa Bay Lightning as their Community Ambassador.
In the 2001–02 NHL season, Dave made a shocking move which would pay dividends in the long run. Rather than sign with a Stanley Cup contender, he signed with the then lowly Tampa Bay Lightning, to whom he was able to bring some much needed veteran leadership. The Lightning again missed the playoffs, and Dave refused trades to contenders, stating his work with the team was not finished.
In 2002–03, Lightning head coach John Tortorella appointed Andreychuk the captain and he continued the leadership role with the team which eventually would lead to a big reward for the young franchise.
After 22 years without being on a Stanley Cup championship team, Andreychuk tied the NHL record with Ray Bourque for the longest career before doing so. Then in the 2003–04 NHL season, the Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games to win the Cup at last, in front of their home crowd.
Dave is one of the highest scoring left wingers in NHL history.
On January 10, 2006, Dave was waived by the Lightning, bringing an end to his career. In October of 2006, Dave rejoined the Tampa Bay Lightning in the role of Community Representative.
In 2006, the city of Hamilton, Ontario renamed the Hester St. Mountain Arena to honor their hometown boy, and it is now called The Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena & Skating Centre.
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