Kaspars Daugaviņš

Kaspars Daugaviņš
Daugaviņš in 2012
Born	(1988-05-18) 18 May 1988 Riga, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
NLA team Former teams	Genève-Servette HC Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Binghamton Senators
National team	Latvia
NHL Draft	91st overall, 2006 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	2005–present

Kaspars Daugaviņš (born 18 May 1988) is a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Daugaviņš currently plays for Genève-Servette HC of the National League A. Daugaviņš has played professionally in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the third round, 91st overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Toronto/Mississauga St. Michael's Majors

After being drafted by the Ottawa Senators at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Daugaviņš moved from Latvia, where he spent the 2005–06 season with HK Riga 2000 of the LHL, and joined the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the OHL, as he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2006 CHL Import Draft.

In his first season with the Majors in 2006–07, Daugaviņš had 18 goals and 60 points in 61 games, good enough to finish second in team scoring. He scored his first OHL goal against Andrew Perugini of the Barrie Colts in his first OHL game. The Majors struggled and failed to qualify for the post-season.

Before the 2007–08, the Majors relocated to Mississauga, Ontario, and was renamed the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Daugaviņš had a breakout season, leading Mississauga with 40 goals and 74 points, helping the club into the playoffs. In four playoff games, Daugaviņš had two goals and three points, as Mississauga was swept by the Niagara IceDogs in the first round.

Daugaviņš spent the second half of the 2008–09 with the Majors, after spending the first part of the season with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL. In 30 games with Mississauga, Daugaviņš had 11 goals and 28 points, helping the team to the post-season for the second straight season. In 11 playoff games, Daugaviņš had two goals and nine points, as Mississauga fell to the Brampton Battalion in the Eastern Conference finals.

Ottawa Senators

After the Toronto St. Michael's Majors failed to qualify for the playoffs in the 2006–07 season, the Ottawa Senators assigned Daugaviņš to their AHL team, the Binghamton Senators, to finish the season. In 11 games with Binghamton, Daugaviņš had two goals. He scored both of his goals in a game against the Albany River Rats, beating Tyler Weiman twice in a 5–4 Senators win. On June 1, 2007, Daugaviņš signed a three-year entry level contract with the Senators.^[1]

In 2007–08, Daugaviņš appeared in three games with Binghamton, earning an assist, as he joined the team after the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors were eliminated from the OHL playoffs.

Daugaviņš spent the first half of the 2008–09 season with Binghamton, playing in 23 games, scoring two goals and three points, before being sent back to the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors to finish the hockey season. After the season, Daugaviņš was selected by Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL in the 2009 KHL Junior Draft.

He spent the 2009–10 in Binghamton, as Daugaviņš appeared in 72 games, scoring 21 goals and 46 points, however, the club failed to reach the playoffs. Daugaviņš also made his NHL debut in the 2009–10 season, appearing in one game with Ottawa. He played with the NHL club on January 14, 2010 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, going pointless in 8:26 of ice time, as the Senators shutout the Rangers 2–0.^[2]

Daugaviņš returned to the AHL for the 2010–11 season, appearing in 74 games, scoring 19 goals and 54 points to finish fourth in team scoring, and helping Binghamton to the playoffs. In 23 playoff games, Daugaviņš had 10 goals and 20 points, as Binghamton won the 2011 Calder Cup, defeating the Houston Aeros in six games in the Calder Cup finals.

Daugaviņš scored his first ever NHL goal on October 30, 2011, beating Jonas Gustavsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3–2 Ottawa victory. As the 2011–12 season progressed, Daugaviņš became a regular in the Ottawa lineup and a popular teammate in the dressing room. He finished the season with 5 goals and 6 assists in 65 games. In July 2012, Daugaviņš was scheduled for an arbitration hearing with the Senators, but that was avoided when he agreed with the team to a one-year, one-way deal worth $635,000.^[3]

As the 2012 NHL lockout began, Daugaviņš signed with his hometown Dinamo Riga of the KHL, the team he had spent the summer of 2012 training with. According to KHL regulations, his contract included a "get-out" clause which allowed him to return to the NHL once the lockout was resolved in January of 2013.^[4] Though he was a healthy scratch for Ottawa's first three games of the shortened season, he replaced the injured Guillaume Latendresse in the Senators' lineup in a 6–4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 25, 2013.

Daugaviņš was placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators on March 26, 2013 and was subsequently claimed by the Boston Bruins.

Boston Bruins

On March 27, 2013, Daugaviņš was claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators by the Boston Bruins.

International

Daugaviņš represents Latvia at international hockey events. In 2004, Daugaviņš played for Latvia at the World U18 Championships as a 15-year-old, earning two assists in five games, as Latvia finished in fourth place at the Division I Group A tournament held in Amstetten, Austria. Daugaviņš came back for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships with Latvia, scoring two goals and three points, helping the Latvian team to a second place finish in the Division I Group B tournament held in Sosnowiec, Poland. At the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships, Daugaviņš had five goals and nine points in five games, helping Latvia finish with a perfect 5–0–0 record, and a first place finish in the Division I Group B tournament held in Riga, Latvia.

Daugaviņš participated with Latvia at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as an 18-year-old, where he had three goals and 10 points in five games, as Latvia finished in second place in the Division I Group A tournament held in Odense, Denmark. At the 2007 IIHF World Championship held in Moscow, Russia, Daugaviņš had three goals and six points in six games, as Latvia finished in 13th place in the tournament.

In 2008, Daugaviņš played at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he had two goals and 10 points in five games, helping Latvia win the Division I Group B tournament held in Riga, Latvia. He once again represented Latvia at the 2008 IIHF World Championship held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec City, Quebec, earning no points in six games, as Latvia finished in 11th place.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Daugaviņš appeared in four games for Latvia, getting no points, as the Latvians finished 12th in the tournament. He also participated at the 2010 IIHF World Championship held in Cologne, Germany, Mannheim, Germany and Gelsenkirchen, Germany, scoring two goals and three points in six games, as Latvia finished in 11th place.

Daugaviņš represented Latvia again at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, scoring a goal and two points in a very successful 10th place finish for his country.

Awards

2010–11 AHL Calder Cup with the Binghamton Senators

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

• Kaspars Daugaviņš's player profile at NHL.com
• Kaspars Daugaviņš's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database