Sandis Ozoliņš
Sandis Ozoliòš ( born August 3, 1972 in Sigulda, Latvia SSR) is a Latvian ice hockey player who played for Dinamo Riga in 2013 for the Kontinental Hockey League on the position of the defender. Between 1992 and 2008 he was active for the San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.
- 2.1 International
- 3.1 International
Career
Beginnings in Riga
Ozoliòš began his career with Dinamo Riga, where he went through all the youth teams. After his first season in the top Soviet league, he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 1991 in the second round to 30th position by the San Jose Sharks newly established. He was the third overall draft choice in the history of the franchise. After a strong performance Ozoliòš at the Junior World Championship 1992, the Sharks took him to North America, where the offensively strong defender was first used in the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League farm team of San Jose. With these he won the Turner Cup at the end of the 1991/92 season.
Change in the NHL
For 1992/ 93, the San Jose Sharks picked up the boots after a disastrous first season for the team in the NHL squad. As one of the few Ozoliòš convinced right away and get him to the end of December in 37 games 23 points scorer. However, a knee injury prevented the continuation of the season for him and he only returned to the 1993/94 season back in the squad. There he followed up on immediately to the strong performance of the preseason and reached in 81 games of the season 64 points, which to this day is still a valid rookie defenseman record for the franchise of San Jose. Furthermore, with the team succeeded for the first time qualifying for the playoffs, what Ozoliòš, was paired with the defending champion Jeff Norton, his compatriot goalkeeper Artūrs Irbe, and the forwards Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov and Ulf Dahlén large proportion. They finally reached the Western Conference semi-finals where they were eliminated unhappy against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In addition Ozoliòš first participated at the NHL All-Star Game. The following shortened game 1994 /95 Lette was his offensive production compared to the previous year do not increase, even though the team was advancing again in the playoffs. In October 1995, shortly after the start of the 1995/96 season, the Sharks transferred back to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Owen Nolan. Colorado was doing a team together for the first time, winning the Stanley Cup to realize what over the Florida Panthers in the final series finally succeeded after a 4-0 sweep at the end of the football year. The season 1997/98 brought Ozoliòš best NHL year when he scored 68 points in 80 games. He also returned due to the NHL All-Star Game, for which he was nominated for the second time after 1994, according to San Jose back, that was the first time the venue of the game, and he was appointed at the end of the season to the NHL First All -Star Team. The Lette remained until the summer of 2000 in Denver before he was discharged in a transfer business, among other things for Bret Hedican of the Carolina Hurricanes. Above all, his weak performances in defensive behavior were the decisive factor for this. In Carolina, he impressed with his services are no longer as strong as the beginning of his NHL career and was therefore transferred in the course of the game in 2001 /02 to the Florida Panthers, the him after a year, in January 2003, to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim sent. In Anaheim, his performance stabilized for the first time and he had a great share of the surprising reaching the Stanley Cup Finals with the Ducks, but that was almost lost in seven games against the New Jersey Devils. He also participated for a total of seventh time NHL All-Star Game.
After narrowly missing a large part of the subsequent season because of a shoulder injury, he sat the entire season 2004/ 05, which had fallen victim to the lockout, and not like many other NHL pros signed a contract in Europe. For NHL 2005/ 06 the defender returned to Anaheim, but made headlines in December 2005 when he missed a training session and a series of away games. Then he let himself voluntarily take the NHL / NHLPA Substance Abuse & Behavioral Health Program. After six weeks Ozoliòš came back from the league program and started training with the Mighty Ducks again. He first played at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, before he was released in March 2006 on the New York Rangers. This had obliged him to have another option on the powerplay by his offensive abilities. The hopes of the Rangers management were not fulfilled because Ozoliòš continued to struggle with personal problems, and went in May 2006 for the second time in the Substance Abuse Program of the League after he car was driven drunk. In December 2006, during the 2006/07 season were the team leaders with their patience at the end and put the overpaid defenders on the waiver list, in the hope that another team picked him from there and this therefore a part of his salary takeovers. Since this did not happen, the Rangers sent him to their American Hockey League farm team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. However, the Latvian refused to change, could be put on the injured list and played no new game. Due to the fact that his contract expired in the summer of 2007 and stood without Ozoliòš team for the new season, presented him his former team from San Jose a sample contract. The problem was that he, due to the participation in the Substance Abuse Program, sign a new contract until October 10, 2007, and deny no games allowed, and thus could only recommend its training services for a new contract. On 20 October 2007, he was finally obliged on the basis of a six-day Professional Tryout Agreements and used for two games with the Worcester Sharks, the farm team of San Jose. One week after discontinuation of the tryout contract, on 2 November 2007, and as all the formalities were cleared because of the previous suspension of the Latvians with the league, took the San Jose Sharks, for which he had 15 years earlier made his NHL debut, the defender for the rest of the season under contract. In the first two thirds of the football year, he came as 39 appearances for San Jose and posted it 16 points. However, he lost the end of the season his place in the squad and was not used.
Return to Europe
Following his involvement in San Jose Latvian received no new offer and paused a year before Dinamo Riga took him in July 2009 from the Kontinental Hockey League contract, the team with whom he had learned to play hockey. There, the defender served until 2012 as a team captain before his contract expired. In September 2012, he was engaged by Atlant Mytischtschi.
Ozoliòš stops at the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche in each case the franchise records for most points of a defender in one season. In San Jose the record stands at 64 points and Colorado at 68
Internationally
Ozoliòš participated with the Soviet national team at the Junior World Championships in 1991 and 1992. For its first participation he won the silver medal with the team before it, winning the gold medal succeeded in doing, although the Soviet Union collapsed during the tournament and the team as Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to play. Since Latvia was not one of this country combination, with Ozoliòš and Sergei Žoltoks but two Latvians were the CIS team, put the other tournament teams a protest. However, this was rejected.
At the World Championship 2001 Ozoliòš ran for the first time in his home country. In addition, he participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2002 World Cup, the Olympic qualifiers in 2005 and the 2006 Winter Olympics. In 21 games, he was able to achieve 17 points.
Awards and achievements
- 2002 NHL All-Star Game
- 2003 NHL All-Star Game
- 2010 KHL All-Star Game
- 2010 KHL Defender of September
- 2011 KHL All-Star Game
- 2011 All- Star team of the Spengler Cup
- 2012 KHL All-Star Game
Internationally
Career Stats
Internationally
Represented the USSR at:
- U20 World Junior Championships 1991
- U20 World Junior Championships 1992
Represented Latvia at:
- World Cup 2001
- 2002 Winter Olympics
- World Cup 2002
- 2006 Winter Olympics
( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )
Others
Ozoliòš owns the hockey team HK Vilki OP Riga, which participates in the amateur league of Latvia. He is also founder of the Ozo Golf Club, the first 18 - hole golf course in Latvia.