Information submitted by Sherri Solomko
Kevin Tendler, a talented defenceman from rural Saskatchewan, played two seasons with the SJHL and three seasons with the WHL. He played in other leagues, also starting the 1979-1980 season with a try-out in the NHL with the Washington Capitals. Kevin won the 1988-1989 award for Best Defenceman with the Unity Miners.
Additionally, Tendler won the Provincial A Senior Championship for Saskatchewan when he played with the Miners. When Tendler played with the Senior Rebels, he helped the team win a league championship as well as a provincial title.
Tendler began his hockey career by playing two seasons with the Moose Jaw Canucks in the 1975-1976 and 1976-1977 seasons. From 1977-1978, Tendler played his first season with the Saskatoon Blades, playing 40 games.
During this season, Tendler scored two goals, racked-up 20 assists and finished with 22 points, as well as 49 minutes of penalties. In the 1978-1979 season, Kevin was selected to be the assistant captain for the Blades. He was also chosen to play an exhibition game against Soviet Club Dynamo Riga with the Edmonton Oil Kings – who won this game with a score of 4-3.
Tendler finished in sixth place with the Blades, scoring 82 points with 15 goals and 30 assists. Tendler also had two goals and seven assists in 11 playoff games in the 1978-1979 season. He earned 123 penalty minutes in the regular season and 14 penalty minutes during the playoffs. In 1979, Tendler was awarded the Most Improved Player at the year’s end awards banquet in Saskatoon.
During the 1979-1980 season, Tendler performed a try-out with the Capitals. During his trial with Washington, Tendler played on the Capitals Rookie team, scoring one of the goals against the Philadelphia Flyers Rookie team in an exhibition game. In the same year, Tendler was assigned to play with Port Huron’s International Hockey League team.
Tendler was subsequently dealt back to the Saskatoon, but prior to re-joining the Blades, Tendler competed in the East Coast Hockey League with the Hampton Aces in Virginia, playing nine games before returning to Saskatoon to become the assistant captain of the Blades once more.
During this season, the Blades played an exhibition game against Soviet Union Spartak, losing 5-1. Tendler met the Russian team during the same season after being chosen to bolster the line-up of the Regina Pats when they faced off against Spartak. In the 1979-1980 season, the well-travelled athlete played with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles and the Birmingham Bulls in the Central Hockey League.
For the 1980-1981 season, Tendler returned to Virginia to play in the EHL with the Hampton Aces. Before Tendler’s hockey career drew to a close, he played with various senior league teams, including the Saskatoon Saints, the Battleford Beaver Blues, the Unity Miners and the Assiniboia Southern Rebels.
During Tendler’s tenure with the Miners, he helped the team win the Provincial A Senior Championship. Tendler soon retired from hockey and settled on a farm near Viceroy. Tendler passed away from a fatal fall in May 2018 at the age of 59.
