Dave Tataryn

Goaltender Dave Tataryn won pretty much every championship an amateur player in Canada could win.

The Sudbury, Ontario native helped the Niagara Falls Flyers to the Memorial Cup championship in 1968.

Then in 1972 he backstopped the University of Toronto to the University Cup, top team in the country again.

And later in his career he twice won the Allan Cup as Canada's senior champions, - in 1981 with the Petrolia Squires and again in 1983 with the Cambridge Terriers.

Yet somehow the goalie that seemed to win everything only played two seasons in the pros.

Tataryn was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 104th overall pick in 1970, but he never turned pro at that point. Instead, after graduating from junior hockey, he enrolled at University. After that one season in Toronto he transferred to Windsor's Laurentian University so he could study closer to home. He earned a degree in health and physical education.

At that point Tataryn stumbled upon a pro career almost by accident. He joined the Toronto Toros on a part time basis in 1975. He earned a $100 if he was the back-up, and $200 if he played.

"I had a five-game tryout and was picked a star in four of the games," he said. "The biggest thrill of my life came in a game against Winnipeg. I stoned them all night before Bobby Hull scored the winning goal. Afterwards, he sent an autographed hockey stick over to me. That felt as good as getting my paycheque at the end of the week."

The Toros ended up signing Tataryn to a three year contract. He ended the season with a 7-12-1 record in 23 games.

The Toros moved him to the Birmingham Bulls the next season but Tataryn executed an escape clause in his contract before he ever played a game for them. Tataryn ended up signing for two games with John Ferguson's New York Rangers, though the Bulls cried about possible tampering.

Tataryn ended up bouncing around the minor leagues mostly in that 1976-77 season. But he ded get into two NHL games. He had a 1-1 record with a rather high 7.50 goals against average.

Tataryn walked away from the pros after that, returning home to Ontario and playing the first of many seasons of senior hockey. He also worked as a teacher and a farrier while establishing his own goaltending school. He also was a goaltending coach with the University of Waterloo and the London Knights.