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Lauris Dārziņš

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Lauris Dārziņš
Darzins in 2008
Born (1985-01-28) January 28, 1985 (age 39)
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Right
KHL team
Former teams
Dinamo Riga
Ilves Tampere
HC Vsetín
HC Třinec
Ak Bars Kazan
Traktor Chelyabinsk
National team  Latvia
NHL draft 268th overall, 2003
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2001–2022

Lauris Dārziņš (born January 28, 1985) is a former Latvian professional ice hockey forward who played with Dinamo Riga in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before retiring in 2022.

Currently (2024) he is the assistant of the Latvian team coach.

Playing career

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Junior

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Dārziņš was drafted in the 9th round, 268th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators out of the junior hockey system Finnish team Lukko Rauma. In the 2004–05 season, Dārziņš played in the North American WHL with the then-reigning Memorial Cup champion Kelowna Rockets, alongside fellow Predators prospect and 2003 draft choice Shea Weber. In two seasons with the Rockets, Dārziņš recorded 32 goals and 67 points in 90 games, helping the Rockets win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2005, although they failed to repeat as Memorial Cup champions.

Return to Europe

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After completing two seasons with the Rockets, Dārziņš went unsigned with the Predators and opted to return to Finland in 2006, signing with Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga. After just thirteen games, Dārziņš moved to HC Vsetín, then of the Czech Extraliga, where he again played just thirteen games, scoring three goals.

In the summer of 2007, Dārziņš signed on with HC Třinec but played just one game for the club before latching on with HK Gomel of the Belarusian Extraleague. Dārziņš finally broke through professionally with a strong campaign for the Belarusian side, with seventeen goals and 34 points in 32 games in the 2007–08 campaign, leading the team in goals and points. This strong season garnered him some attention among stronger Eastern European clubs, and on May 27, 2008, he signed on with Russian club HC MVD of the newly re-branded Russian SuperLeague.[1]

Dinamo Riga

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Dārziņš would never play a game for MVD and eventually landed with the resurrected Dinamo Riga club in his hometown for the team's inaugural campaign. Dārziņš scored just eight goals and seventeen points in 56 games, and the team scored just 132 goals total but found their way into the playoffs before getting swept in the first round by Dynamo Moscow.

Dārziņš would return to Riga in 2009–10 and enjoyed a breakout season. The winger scored fourteen goals, was the third-most on the team, and had 31 total points in 54 games. Riga returned to the playoffs, upsetting top-seeded SKA Saint Petersburg three games to one, but falling in the second round to MVD four games to one. Dārziņš scored two goals and four points in nine playoff games.

In the spring of 2010, Dārziņš' contract with Riga expired. After being briefly linked with Russian powerhouse club Ak Bars Kazan,[2] Dārziņš revealed that he had been in contact with scouts with the NHL club that drafted him, the Nashville Predators,[3] about a possible return to North American hockey. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Dārziņš was the fourth-leading scorer in Riga's two-year history, with 47 points in 112 games.

Dārziņš ultimately spurned any forays into North America in favor of another season with his hometown club. He was rewarded with his best offensive totals at any level, scoring 21 goals and 23 assists in 45 games for Dinamo, leading the team in goals and points. Dārziņš was named to the 2011 KHL All-Star Game in St. Petersburg as part of Team Yashin and finished 16th in the KHL in scoring. Dinamo returned to the Gagarin Cup playoffs, with Dārziņš scoring ten points in eleven games as Riga upset Dynamo Moscow four games to two in the first round.

On May 3, 2011, Dārziņš joined Ak Bars Kazan on a multi-year contract.[4] In June 2013 he was traded to Traktor Chelyabinsk. In January 2014, Dārziņš returned to Dinamo Riga.

International play

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Dārziņš has been a regular fixture on the Latvian national team at varying levels since 2002. At 17, he made his debut with the national team at the Division I (second tier) IIHF World U18 Championship, scoring two goals and three total points in five games. Dārziņš returned to the U18s the following year, posting one goal and two points in five games. He broke through with the Under-20 team in 2003 and would go on to play in three Division I IIHF World U20 Championships, where he would score 12 goals and 24 points in 15 games over three tournaments.

In 2006, Dārziņš made his debut with the full national team as a 21-year-old in the 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, which were held in his hometown of Riga. He has not missed the tournament since his debut, scoring nine goals and twelve points in 23 games over four tournaments.

In February 2010, Dārziņš represented Latvia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, recording one assist in four games. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he was the leading scorer on the Latvian team with four goals and one assist in five games.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 HK Lido Nafta Rīga LAT 20 12 15 27
2001–02 Lukko FIN U18 7 4 1 5 4
2001–02 Lukko FIN U20 5 1 0 1 0
2002–03 Lukko FIN U18 13 10 10 20 6
2002–03 Lukko FIN U20 13 6 4 10 6
2003–04 Lukko FIN U20 35 17 8 25 14
2004–05 Kelowna Rockets WHL 53 19 15 34 38 24 7 7 14 10
2005–06 Kelowna Rockets WHL 47 13 20 33 26 6 5 1 6 2
2006–07 Ilves SM-l 13 1 1 2 6
2006–07 Vsetínská hokejová ELH 13 3 0 3 22
2007–08 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 1 0 0 0 0
2007–08 HK Gomel BLR 32 17 18 35 46
2008–09 Dinamo Rīga KHL 56 8 8 16 56 3 0 0 0 4
2009–10 Dinamo Rīga KHL 54 14 17 31 30 9 2 2 4 12
2010–11 Dinamo Rīga KHL 45 21 23 44 70 11 5 5 10 2
2011–12 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 15 2 5 7 8 4 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 28 4 8 12 6 9 4 0 4 4
2013–14 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 19 3 3 6 4
2013–14 Dinamo Rīga KHL 10 2 4 6 8 7 4 1 5 0
2014–15 Dinamo Rīga KHL 56 13 19 32 22
2015–16 Dinamo Rīga KHL 59 10 18 28 6
2016–17 Dinamo Rīga KHL 56 11 18 29 10
2017–18 Dinamo Rīga KHL 24 5 13 18 15
2018–19 Dinamo Rīga KHL 62 18 26 44 32
2019–20 Dinamo Rīga KHL 54 11 21 32 14
2020–21 Dinamo Rīga KHL 41 7 16 23 8
2021–22 Dinamo Rīga KHL 36 3 15 18 12
KHL totals 615 132 214 346 302 43 15 8 23 22

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Latvia WJC18 D1 15th 5 2 1 3 2
2003 Latvia WJC D1 18th 5 2 2 4 0
2003 Latvia WJC18 D1 17th 5 1 1 2 2
2004 Latvia WJC D1 16th 5 6 4 10 6
2005 Latvia WJC D1 12th 5 4 6 10 4
2006 Latvia WC 10th 6 2 0 2 6
2007 Latvia WC 13th 6 3 2 5 2
2008 Latvia WC 10th 6 2 1 3 16
2009 Latvia OGQ Q 3 3 1 4 0
2009 Latvia WC 7th 7 2 0 2 18
2010 Latvia OG 12th 4 0 1 1 10
2011 Latvia WC 13th 3 1 0 1 4
2013 Latvia OGQ Q 3 3 2 5 0
2013 Latvia WC 11th 7 5 1 6 2
2014 Latvia OG 8th 5 4 1 5 2
2015 Latvia WC 13th 7 3 7 10 2
2016 Latvia OGQ DNQ 3 0 3 3 0
2019 Latvia WC 10th 7 3 3 6 4
2021 Latvia WC 11th 7 2 2 4 2
2021 Latvia OGQ Q 3 0 4 4 0
2022 Latvia OG 11th 3 2 2 4 2
Junior totals 25 15 14 29 14
Senior totals 86 36 30 66 70

References

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  1. ^ Drinnan, Gregg. "Taking Note: Some Tuesday Notes . . .". 27 May 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  2. ^ Bērziņš, Artis. "Dārziņš uz Ak Bars? Cerību Maz" Archived 2010-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010. Translation from Latvian.
  3. ^ Lācis, Mārtiņš. "Dārziņš: vēl vakar zvanīja Nešvilas «Predators» skauts". 30 March 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010. Translation from Latvian.
  4. ^ "Ak Bars sign Denis Kulyash and Lauris Darzins | Sports.ru in English".
  5. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lauris Dārziņš". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
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