Longtime Flyers third-line center Orest Kindrachuk was born September 14, 1950 in Nanton, Alberta and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was the son of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, and Ukrainian was the first language he spoke. As a youngster, he started skating at the age of three and took to hockey very quickly.
As he grew up, Kindrachuk initially planned to honor the sacrifices his parents made for him by becoming an optometrist rather than pursuing a hockey career. A bit undersized and a below-average skater, Kindrachuk did not believe he had a future in hockey.
