Dave Semenko, who long patrolled the ice as Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard for the 1980s Edmonton Oilers, has died from cancer. He was 59.
The Winninpeg native, who played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings, started playing professional hockey with the World Hockey Association Oilers in 1977 and was on the team when it joined the National Hockey League two years later.
The left-winger played 10 seasons with the Oilers organization, winning three Stanley Cups. Semenko, one of the most-feared NHL enforcers of his time, played 575 NHL games with the Oilers, the Hartford Whalers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 65 goals and 88 assists for 153 points to go with 1,153 penalty minutes.