Olaf Kölzig

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Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Nickname(s)	Olie the Goalie Godzilla, Ziggy
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 221 lb (100 kg/15 st 11 lb)
NHL Team	Washington Capitals
Nationality	Germany
Born	April 6, 1970 (1970-04-06) (age 38), Johannesburg, RSA
NHL Draft	19th overall, 1989 Washington Capitals
Pro career	1989 – present

Olaf Kölzig (born April 6, 1970) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender, playing for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. Though Kölzig was born in South Africa, he grew up in several cities across Canada and his family moved to Union Bay, British Columbia, Canada, when he was a teenager. Kölzig never applied for Canadian citizenship, which, combined with his German parentage and German passport, allows him to represent Germany internationally.^[1] In May 2008 Kolzig announced that he would not return to the Capitals.

[edit] Playing Career

"Olie the Goalie" has been with the Washington Capitals franchise since they selected him in the 1989 Draft; he is the last remaining Capital to have worn the original red, white and blue uniform and the blue jersey from 1995. He spent several years in the American Hockey League with the Baltimore Skipjacks, Rochester Americans, and Portland Pirates, and the ECHL with the Hampton Roads Admirals, after playing major junior hockey for the New Westminster Bruins and Tri-City Americans of the WHL. During Kölzig's time with the Americans, he had an on-ice fistfight with Portland Winter Hawks goaltender Byron Dafoe, someone with whom he would go on to have a friendly rivalry in the NHL—so friendly that they served as each other's best man when they got married. On November 29, 1989, Kölzig scored a goal with the Americans.^[2] During 2004/05 NHL lockout he signed with the German club Eisbären Berlin.

Kölzig played his first NHL game in the 1989-90 NHL season, only to be sent down to the minors for a few years. In the 1995-96 NHL season, he was brought up to be a backup for Jim Carey and remained the backup when the Capitals acquired Bill Ranford from the Boston Bruins during the 1996-97 NHL season. Early in the next season, Ranford suffered an injury and Kölzig was called upon to become the starter, at least temporarily. Kölzig wound up playing well for the rest of the season, winning a total of 33 games and achieving a 2.20 goals against average. He remained the starting goaltender for the Capitals until the 2008 trading deadline, and holds virtually every franchise record at his position.

In the 1997-98 season Kölzig led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the playoffs, he became only the tenth goalie in NHL history to record four shutouts in one postseason. The Caps were swept in four games by the defending champion Detroit Red Wings.

In 2000, he won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie after going 41-20-11 with a 2.24 GAA and five shutouts. In the American Hockey League he won the 1994 Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (MVP of the American Hockey League playoffs) and the 1994 Hap Holmes Memorial Award.

Kölzig was also the starting goalie for the German Olympic team in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, recording a 1.00 GAA and went 2-0. He also played with the German team in the 2004 World Cup, yet went 0-3 with a 3.34 GAA.

Kölzig also has the distinction of being one of four goaltenders to play a scoreless period during an NHL All-Star Game, having done so at the 2000 All-Star Game. He also played in the 1998 All-Star Game, in which he made 14 saves on 17 shots.

In recent years, Kölzig has on average played fewer games per season. Still, he is averaging 68 games and more than 4,000 minutes a season. He played in 59 games during the 2005-06 season.

In 2004, the Capitals held a vote for fans to determine the top 30 players in the franchise history to celebrate their 30th season in the league. Kölzig's 2,038 votes led all players.

In 2005, he and fellow Tri-City American alumni Stu Barnes became part of an ownership group in their former major junior team, assuring the existence of the Americans in Kennewick, Washington for about ten years.

Kölzig also started in goal again for Germany's Olympic team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

On February 11, 2006, Kölzig signed a two-year, $10.9 million extension with the Capitals.

In February 2007 in the midst of a 19-19-5 season Kölzig tore his medial collateral ligament. Still Kölzig has played more NHL games (577) than any other active goalie in the NHL besides Martin Brodeur (633) and Dominik Hasek (694). Prior to this injury Kölzig had missed only 18 games and never more than four in a row [1].

In February 2008, the Capitals acquired goalie Cristobal Huet, who gradually took over Kölzig's position as starting goaltender. Despite this, on March 12 Kölzig became the 23rd goalie to win 300 games. The Capitals qualified for the playoffs, and Huet started every game in their first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals lost in seven games. A few weeks after their elimination, Kölzig announced he did not intend to return to the team.^[3]

[edit] Off the ice

Kölzig is known for his service off the ice as well as his accomplishments on the ice. Along with fellow NHLers Byron Dafoe and Scott Mellanby, he founded Athletes Against Autism to raise awareness of autism and encourage more research, as well as the Carson Kolzig Foundation for Youth Autism in honor of his son, who has autism. He is active in two Washingtons—Washington, D.C., where he plays during the season, and Washington State, which he considers home. Because of his local and national service, he was awarded the NHL's King Clancy Memorial Trophy for humanitarian service in 2006 and was named one of the 10 Washingtonians of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine in 2000.

Olaf and his wife Christin have three children, a son Carson and two daughters, Kendall and Ashlyn.

[edit] Awards and achievements

• Jack A. Butterfield Trophy - 1994
• Hap Holmes Memorial Award - 1994 (along with Byron Dafoe)
• Prince of Wales Trophy - 1998
• Vezina Trophy - 2000
• King Clancy Memorial Trophy - 2006
• NHL All-Star Game - 1998 & 2000
• One of Ten Washingtonians of the Year (From Washingtonian Magazine) - 2000

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Olaf Kölzig's NHL player profile
• "One on one with Olaf Kolzig", HoboTrashcan.com.
• Olaf Kölzig's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Athletes Against Autism