Sandis Ozoliņš

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LatviaLatvia  Sandis Ozoliņš Ice hockey player
Sandis Ozoliņš
Date of birth 3rd August 1972
place of birth Sigulda , Latvian SSR
Nickname Ozo, O-Zone, Wizard of Oz
size 191 cm
Weight 100 kg
position defender
number #8th
Shot hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1991 , 2nd round, 30th position
San Jose Sharks
Career stations
until 1992 Dinamo Riga
1992-1995 San Jose Sharks
1995-2000 Colorado Avalanche
2000-2002 Carolina Hurricanes
2002-2003 Florida panthers
2003-2006 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
2006-2007 New York Rangers
2007-2008 San Jose Sharks
2009–2012 Dinamo Riga
2012-2013 Atlant Mytishchi
2013-2014 Dinamo Riga

Sandis Ozoliņš (born August 3, 1972 in Sigulda , Latvian SSR ) is a former Latvian ice hockey player . Between 1992 and 2008 he worked for the San Jose Sharks , Colorado Avalanche , Carolina Hurricanes , Florida Panthers , Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League on the position of the defense active. Between 2009 and 2014 he played for Dinamo Riga and Atlant Mytishchi in the Continental Hockey League .

Career

Beginnings in Riga

Ozoliņš began his career at Dinamo Riga , where he went through all youth teams. After his first season in the top Soviet league , he was selected in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft in the second round in 30th position by the newly formed San Jose Sharks . It was the third overall draft election in the history of the franchise . After a strong performance Ozoliņš at the Junior World Championship in 1992, the Sharks brought him to North America, where the attacking defender was first used by the Kansas City Blades , the International Hockey League - San Joses farm team . With these he won the Turner Cup at the end of the 1991/92 season .

Change to the NHL

For the 1992/93 season , the San Jose Sharks brought the Latvians into the NHL squad after a devastating first season for the team . Ozoliņš was one of the few who was able to convince right away and scored 23 points in 37 games by the end of December. However, a knee injury prevented the continuation of the season for him and he did not return to the squad until the 1993/94 season . There he immediately built on the strong performances of the previous season and achieved 64 points in 81 games of the season, which is still a valid rookie defender record for the San Joses franchise to this day . Furthermore, the team succeeded in qualifying for the first time for the playoffs, which Ozoliņš, paired with defender Jeff Norton , his compatriot goalkeeper Artūrs Irbe , and strikers Igor Larionow , Sergei Makarow and Ulf Dahlén had a large share. They eventually reached the Western Conference semi-finals, where they were unlucky enough to be eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs . Ozoliņš also took part in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time. In the following shortened game year 1994/95 , the Latvian could not increase his offensive production compared to the previous year, although the team advanced again into the playoffs. In October 1995, shortly after the start of the 1995/96 season, the Sharks transferred the defender to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Owen Nolan . Colorado was in the process of putting together a team to win the Stanley Cup for the first time , which was finally achieved at the end of the game year after a 4-0 sweep over the Florida Panthers in the final series. The 1997/98 season brought Ozoliņš best NHL year with it when he scored 68 points in 80 games. Moreover, he returned due to the NHL All-Star Game , for which he was nominated for the second time after 1994, to San Jose back, that was the first time the venue of the game, and he was at the end of the season the team NHL First All-Star appointed . The Latvian stayed in Denver until the summer of 2000, before he was transferred to the Carolina Hurricanes in a transfer business for Bret Hedican, among others . Above all, his weak performance in defensive behavior was the decisive factor. In Carolina, he no longer impressed with his performances as much as at the beginning of his NHL career and was therefore transferred to the Florida Panthers in the course of the 2001/02 game year , which took him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in January 2003 sent. In Anaheim, his performance stabilized for the first time and he had a large share in the surprising achievement of the Stanley Cup final with the Ducks, which was lost in just seven games against the New Jersey Devils . He also took part in the NHL All-Star Game for the seventh time.

Ozoliņš in the jersey of the San Jose Sharks

After he had missed large parts of the following season due to a shoulder injury, he suspended the entire 2004/05 season , which had fallen victim to the lockout , and did not sign a contract in Europe like many other NHL professionals. The defender returned to Anaheim for the 2005/06 NHL , but made headlines in December 2005 when he missed a training session and a series of away games. He then volunteered for the NHL / NHLPA Substance Abuse & Behavioral Health Program . After six weeks, Ozoliņš came back from the league program and resumed training with the Mighty Ducks. So he first played at the Winter Olympics in Turin before he was given up to the New York Rangers in March 2006 . They had hired him to have another option in power play through his offensive skills. Rangers management's hopes were not fulfilled as Ozoliņš continued to struggle with personal problems and entered the league's Substance Abuse Program for the second time in May 2006 after driving drunk. In December 2006 in the course of the 2006/07 season , the team officials were at the end of their patience and put the overpaid defender on the waiver list, in the hope that another team would choose him from there and thus part of his salary took over. When that didn't happen, the Rangers sent him to their American Hockey League farm team, the Hartford Wolf Pack . However, the Latvian refused to move, was put on the injured list and did not play another game. Because his contract expired in the summer of 2007 and Ozoliņš was left without a team for the new season, his ex-team from San Jose submitted a trial contract to him. The problem was that, due to his participation in the Substance Abuse Program , he was not allowed to sign a new contract or play any games until October 10, 2007, and could therefore only recommend himself for a new contract through his training achievements. On October 20, 2007, he was finally committed on the basis of a six-day professional tryout agreement and used for two games with the Worcester Sharks , the San Joses farm team. One week after the end of the tryout contract, on November 2nd, 2007, and when all formalities had been cleared with the league management regarding the previous suspension of the Latvian, the San Jose Sharks, for whom he had made his NHL debut 15 years earlier, took the defender under contract for the remainder of the season. In the first two thirds of the game year he came to 39 missions for San Jose and scored 16 points. However, he lost his place in the squad at the end of the season and was no longer used.

Return to Europe and end of career (2009-2014)

Sandis Ozoliņš and Solvita Āboltiņa , February 2014

Following his engagement in San Jose, the Latvian received no new offer and paused for a year before he signed Dinamo Riga from the Continental Hockey League in July 2009 , the team where he learned to play ice hockey. There the defender acted as team captain until 2012 before his contract expired. In September 2012 he was signed by Atlant Mytishchi , where he also acted as captain. In May 2014 he returned to Dinamo and played the last season of his professional career, again as captain, before he announced his final career end in May 2015. he had previously joined the Latvian party Latvijas attīstībai and stood for the 2014 parliamentary elections in Latvia .

Ozoliņš holds the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche franchise records for most defender points in a season. In San Jose the record is 64 points and in Colorado 68.

In recognition of his achievements in the Latvian ice hockey sport, he received the Latvian three-star medal in 2014 .

International

Ozoliņš took part with the Soviet national team in the Junior World Championships in 1991 and 1992 . In his first participation he was able to win the silver medal with the team, before winning the gold medal the following year, although the Soviet Union was dissolved during the tournament and the team continued to play as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Since Latvia did not belong to this group of countries, but with Ozoliņš and Sergejs Žoltoks there were two Latvians in the CIS team, the other tournament teams protested. However, this was rejected.

At the World Cup 2001 Ozoliņš ran for the first time for his home country. He also took part in the 2002 Winter Olympics , the 2002 World Cup , the 2005 Olympic Qualification and the 2006 Winter Olympics. His last major international tournament was the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , where he reached the quarter-finals as captain of the Latvian selection.

As a trainer

During the 2016-17 season, Ozoli vonš was appointed assistant coach at Dinamo Riga before being promoted to head coach in May 2017. After losing a streak at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, he was dismissed by Dinamo Riga at the end of September 2017.

He has been an assistant trainer at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod since January 2019 .

Achievements and Awards

International

Career statistics

Club competitions

Regular season Play-offs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1990/91 Dinamo Riga Vysschaya League 44 0 3 3 51 - - - - -
1991/92 Riga Stars Vysschaya League 30th 6th 0 6th 42 - - - - -
1991/92 Kansas City Blades IHL 34 6th 9 15th 20th 15th 2 5 7th 22nd
1992/93 San Jose Sharks NHL 37 7th 16 23 40 - - - - -
1993/94 San Jose Sharks NHL 81 26th 38 64 24 14th 0 10 10 8th
1994/95 San Jose Sharks NHL 48 9 16 25th 30th 11 3 2 5 6th
1995/96 San Francisco Spiders IHL 2 1 0 1 0 - - - - -
1995/96 San Jose Sharks NHL 7th 1 3 4th 4th - - - - -
1995/96 Colorado Avalanche NHL 66 13 37 50 50 22nd 5 14th 19th 16
1996/97 Colorado Avalanche NHL 80 23 45 68 88 17th 4th 13 17th 24
1997/98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 66 13 38 51 65 7th 0 7th 7th 14th
1998/99 Colorado Avalanche NHL 39 7th 25th 32 22nd 19th 4th 8th 12 22nd
1999/00 Colorado Avalanche NHL 82 16 36 52 46 17th 5 5 10 20th
2000/01 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 72 12 32 44 71 6th 0 2 2 5
2001/02 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 46 4th 19th 23 34 - - - - -
2001/02 Florida panthers NHL 37 10 19th 29 24 - - - - -
2002/03 Florida panthers NHL 51 7th 19th 26th 40 - - - - -
2002/03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 31 5 13 18th 16 21st 2 6th 8th 10
2003/04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 36 5 11 16 24 - - - - -
2004/05 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL not played because of lockout
2005/06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 17th 3 3 6th 8th - - - - -
2005/06 New York Rangers NHL 14th 2 10 12 12 3 0 0 0 6th
2006/07 New York Rangers NHL 21st 0 3 3 8th - - - - -
2007/08 Worcester Sharks AHL 2 0 1 1 0 - - - - -
2007/08 San Jose Sharks NHL 39 3 13 16 24 - - - - -
2008/09 without a contract not played
2009/10 Dinamo Riga KHL 43 5 20th 25th 109 6th 0 3 3 24
2010/11 Dinamo Riga KHL 41 6th 26th 32 62 11 0 7th 7th 12
2011/12 Dinamo Riga KHL 50 10 10 20th 28 7th 1 1 2 2
2012/13 Atlant Mytishchi KHL 42 2 18th 20th 26th 5 0 1 1 2
2013/14 Dinamo Riga KHL 48 5 17th 22nd 46 7th 0 2 2 24
Super league overall 74 6th 3 9 93 - - - - -
IHL total 36 7th 9 16 20th 15th 2 5 7th 22nd
AHL total 2 0 1 1 0 - - - - -
NHL overall 875 167 397 564 638 137 23 67 90 131
KHL total 224 28 89 117 271 36 1 14th 15th 64

International

Represented the USSR in:

Represented the CIS at:

Represented Latvia at:

year team event Sp T V Pt SM
1991 USSR U20 World Cup 7th 1 2 3 6th
1992 USSR / CIS U20 World Cup 7th 1 5 6th 4th
2001 Latvia WM 6th 0 5 5 2
2002 Latvia Olympia 1 0 4th 4th 0
2002 Latvia WM 6th 2 1 3 12
2006 Latvia Olympia 5 1 3 4th 0
2013 Latvia Olympia Q. 3 0 0 0 2
2014 Latvia Olympia 5 0 0 0 8th
Juniors overall 14th 2 7th 9 10
Men overall 33 4th 16 20th 34

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Others

Ozoliņš is the owner of the HK Vilki OP Riga ice hockey team , which participates in the Latvian amateur league. He is also the founder of the Ozo Golf Club , the first 18-hole golf course in Latvia.

Web links

Commons : Sandis Ozoliņš  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ cbc.ca, Ducks' Ozolinsh enters treatment program
  2. ↑ sports.espn.go.com, Rangers get Ozolinsh from Mighty Ducks
  3. ↑ a b mercurynews.com, Ozolinsh has gone the distance to come back with Sharks
  4. ↑ sharks.nhl.com, Sandis Ozolinsh In Camp On A Tryout
  5. ↑ sharks.nhl.com, Sharks Sign Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh
  6. ↑ Sandis Ozolins goes home. In: iihf.com. July 7, 2009, accessed August 21, 2018 .
  7. ↑ iihf.com, Ozolins ends career - Latvian legend retires, eyes parliament , May 28, 2014
  8. ↑ Par Triju Zvaigžņu ordeņa piešķiršanu - Latvijas Vēstnesis. vestnesis.lv, April 23, 2014, accessed on August 21, 2018 (Latvian, No. 79 [5139]).
  9. ↑ Martin Merk: Ozolins leads Dinamo Riga. In: iihf.com. May 29, 2017, accessed July 3, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Sandis Ozoliņš pievienojies Ņižņijnovgorodas «Torpedo» treneru kolektīvam. In: lsm.lv. January 16, 2019, accessed October 15, 2019 (Latvian).
  11. ↑ Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union during the tournament, the team was renamed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Logo of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Squad of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the 2020/21 season
personal data
SURNAME Ozoliņš, Sandis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ozolinsh, Sandis; Ozolins, Sandis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Latvian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd August 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Sigulda , Latvian SSR