David John Semenko is a retired Canadian hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL. He was originally selected in 1977 by the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League and the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association. A frequent fighter, he was known as Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard early in Gretzky's career in Edmonton, beginning in the WHA in 1978, until Semenko was traded to Hartford in January 1987. Semenko is considered by many to be one of the toughest players ever in the NHL . The protection offered by Semenko allowed Edmonton's stars, such as Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, and Paul Coffey more freedom on the ice, greatly helping the Oilers win Stanley Cups in 1984 and 1985. He fought boxing legend Muhammad Ali in an exhibition on June 12, 1983. Semenko played his junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings, then played two years for the Oilers in the WHA before it merged with the NHL. He scored the final goal in WHA history in Game 6 of the 1979 Avco Cup Finals, which the Oilers lost to the Winnipeg Jets. 

July 12th, 1957 in Winnipeg  /  Died:   Jun 29th, 2017 - Cancer