Hockey player.
Born at Winnipeg on 1 November 1951 to Vera Pauline Lucyk (1925-1989) and John Hrechkosy (1919-1976), he developed an interest and skill in hockey as a young child, sometimes described as having grown up “with a stick in one hand and the ice at his feet in his backyard.” He learned the game on the windy rinks of the Northwood Community Club. Advancing to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the West Kildonan North Stars in 1969-1970, he then made the jump the following year to the Junior Jets of the Western Canada Hockey League. Undrafted and unsigned, he spent three seasons in the Eastern Hockey League and the American Hockey League (AHL), getting acquainted with the professional game and hoping to attract the attention of a big-league club. After a solid year with the AHL's Rochester Americans, he signed his first National Hockey League contract with the New York Rangers in 1972, but was soon traded to the California Golden Seals.
At 6'3" and 210 pounds, his nickname was “The Wrecker.” Once he joined the Seals, he was the centerpiece of the briefly memorable “Wrecking Crew Line” with Ron Huston and Butch Williams. His style of play garnered league-wide attention and he was runner-up to Eric Vail of the Atlanta Flames for NHL Rookie of the Year.
The following year, the St. Louis Blues sent two draft picks to the Seals in a last-minute deadline deal to bring him to St. Louis. His role would change, as he became a utility player for two seasons with the Blues, then spent the remainder of his career in the minors with the New Haven Nighthawks and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. During his stint with the Eagles, he met Terri Tapp, and they married on 9 June 1979 at Winnipeg. They went on to have two children.
Upon his retirement from hockey in 1980, he settled in Salt Lake City and began working for the Coca-Cola Company. He made many lasting friendships and connections through his employment there, which led him to his next endeavor as the Concessions Manager at the University of Utah athletics department. In 2004, he was recruited by Texas A&M University to run their multi-million-dollar athletic concession’s department. He became devoted to the college and its sports teams and poured his heart and soul into his work.
Together with his wife, he ran the Home and School Board at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Salt Lake City, where his children were educated, and participated enthusiastically in their activities and schooling.
He enjoyed family life, as well as golfing with the Buzzards, fishing with his cousins on Lake Winnipeg, watching the Kentucky Derby, jet-setting with his wife to various locations in the United States and Mexico, and generally socializing with friends at every opportunity.
He died on 7 March 2012 and was buried in the Larkin Sunset Gardens at Sandy, Salt Lake City. In 2022, he was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 12 March 2012.
“Dave Hrechkosy,” Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.
“David John Hrechkosy,” Cotter Prefered 1 Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 4 May 2026
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