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Ed Hospodar

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Ed Hospodar
Born (1959-02-09) February 9, 1959 (age 65)
Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for New York Rangers
Hartford Whalers
Philadelphia Flyers
Minnesota North Stars
Buffalo Sabres
National team  United States
NHL draft 34th overall, 1979
New York Rangers
Playing career 1979–1988

Edward David Hospodar (born February 9, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars and Buffalo Sabres. Hospodar did not see a great deal of ice time at any point in his career, and was used primarily as an enforcer.

He was best known for being one of the instigators of a pregame brawl between the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers in the Montreal Forum prior to game six of the Wales Conference finals on May 14, 1987, an act which earned him a suspension for the remainder of that year's playoffs.[1][2][3]

While with the Rangers, Hospodar's face was badly damaged by Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders in a 1981 fight at Madison Square Garden. In 450 NHL games, Hospodar scored 17 goals and had 51 assists, with four goals and one assist during 44 playoff games. He acquired 1314 penalty minutes during his regular season games, and 208 penalty minutes during his playoff games. Hospodar retired from hockey in 1988.[4]

As a youth, Hospodar played in the 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Toronto.[5]

Hospodar received his nickname in junior hockey after a writer deemed the force of his checks to be commensurate with that of a "runaway boxcar". Although born in the United States, Hospodar learned the game in Canada; his father was a plant manager for the Campbell's Soup Company, overseeing plants in New Jersey, Ohio, and later Ontario.[6] Hospodar's brother became a Byzantine Catholic priest.[7]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1976–77 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 51 3 19 22 140 19 3 9 12 113
1977–78 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 62 7 26 33 172 16 3 6 9 78
1978–79 Ottawa 67's OMJHL 45 7 16 23 131 5 0 1 1 39
1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 20 0 1 1 76 7 1 0 1 42
1979–80 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 25 3 9 12 131 5 0 1 1 39
1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 61 5 14 19 214 12 2 0 2 93
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 41 3 8 11 152 — — — — ��
1982–83 Hartford Whalers NHL 72 1 9 10 199 — — — — —
1983–84 Hartford Whalers NHL 59 0 9 9 163 — — — — —
1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 50 3 4 7 130 18 1 1 2 69
1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 17 3 1 4 55 — — — — —
1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 43 0 2 2 91 2 0 0 0 2
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 45 2 2 4 136 5 0 0 0 2
1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 42 0 1 1 98 — — — — —
1988–89 Rochester Americans AHL 5 0 0 0 10 — — — — —
NHL totals 450 17 51 68 1,314 44 4 1 5 208

References

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  1. ^ Moran, Malcolm (1987-05-16). "Flyers, Canadiens Pay Price for Brawl". The New York Times. p. 49, Section 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  2. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (1987-05-16). "Philadelphia defenseman Ed Hospodar was suspended for..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  3. ^ Kurz, Kevin. "Flyers-Canadians brawl of 1987 changed the NHL forever". The Athletic. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  4. ^ "Ed Hospodar player profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  5. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  6. ^ "LeBow College of Business to Award John Hospodar 85 Father of Ed Boxcar Hospodar Honorary MBA | Now | Drexel University". Drexel.edu. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  7. ^ "1979 NHL Entry Draft - Ed Hospodar". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
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