| Sergejs Žoltoks Sergei Zholtok |
|
|---|---|
| Born | December 2, 1972 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | November 3, 2004 (aged 31) Minsk, Belarus |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Montreal Canadiens Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators |
| National team | Latvia CIS & Soviet Union |
| NHL Draft | 55th overall, 1992 Boston Bruins |
| Playing career | 1992–2004 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Competitor for Soviet Union | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Silver | 1991 Canada | |
| Competitor for CIS | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 1992 Germany | |
Sergejs Žoltoks (Russian: Сергей Жолток, Sergei Zholtok; December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey center who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.
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Žoltoks was drafted by the Boston Bruins 55th overall in 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to being drafted, he won a gold medal with USSR national team in IIHF Junior World Championships in 1992. After playing 25 games with the Boston Bruins in the 1992–93 NHL season and the 1993–94 NHL season, Žoltoks spent the next years playing in minor leagues.
Žoltoks returned to the NHL in the 1996–97 NHL season with the Ottawa Senators. In the following years, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Žoltoks returned to Latvia and played for the Riga 2000 team in the Latvian national hockey championship and the Open Belarus hockey championship. On November 3, 2004, his cardiac arrhythmia resurfaced during the game between HK Riga 2000 (Latvia) and HC Dinamo Minsk (Belorussia). Žoltoks left the game with 5 minutes remaining, collapsing and dying after returning to the dressing room in the arms of teammate Darby Hendrickson. An autopsy determined heart failure as the cause of death. This was not the first occurrence; in January 2003 he had to leave a game due to this arrhythmia, and had been observed in a hospital overnight. He was allowed to return to play after missing seven games.
During his 10 years in the NHL, he played in 588 regular-season games, scored 111 goals and had 147 assists. He is survived by his wife, Anna, and sons Edgar and Nikita.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | Dinamo Riga | LHL | 39 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Pardaugava Riga | LHL | 27 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 64 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 57 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 54 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 78 | 23 | 35 | 58 | 42 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 82 | 51 | 50 | 101 | 30 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 19 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 57 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 78 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Quebec Citadelles | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 26 | 12 | 38 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 32 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 37 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 73 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 78 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 59 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | HK Riga 2000 | BHL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 588 | 111 | 147 | 258 | 166 | 45 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 0 | ||||
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Soviet | EJC | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| 1991 | Soviet | WJC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1992 | CIS | WJC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 1994 | Latvia | WC-B | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 1997 | Latvia | WC | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 1999 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2001 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 2002 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2004 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Junior int'l totals | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 14 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 34 | 21 | 11 | 32 | 26 | ||
| Preceded by Matt Johnson |
Minnesota Wild captain January 2003 |
Succeeded by Brad Bombardir |