Sergei Zholtok
Encyclopedia
Sergejs Žoltoks 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
.
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.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
center
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
Playing career
Žoltoks was drafted by the Boston BruinsBoston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
55th overall in 1992 NHL Entry Draft
1992 NHL Entry Draft
The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted.-Selections by round:Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:...
. 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
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. In the following years, he played for the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and the Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Žoltoks returned to Latvia and played for the Riga 2000 team in the Latvian national hockey championship
Latvian Hockey League
The Latvian Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league based in Latvia. It is also known in Latvian as Latvijas atklātais čempionāts hokejā ....
and the Open Belarus hockey championship. On November 3, 2004, his cardiac arrhythmia resurfaced during the game between HK Riga 2000
HK Riga 2000
HK Riga 2000 was a Belarusian Extraliga team based in Riga, Latvia. The team had played in the LHL since it was founded. In 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons the club also iced a team in the Belarusian Hockey League, and in 2005-06 finished 3rd. HK Riga 2000 was first foreign team to finish in top three...
(Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
) and HC Dinamo Minsk
HC Dinamo Minsk
Dinamo Minsk is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.Dinamo has qualified for the KHL playoffs only once, during the 2010-11 KHL season....
(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
Darby Hendrickson
Darby Joseph Hendrickson is a retired American professional ice hockey center. He played in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche, and is currently an assistant coach with the Wild.-Playing career:He was drafted in...
. 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.
Awards and achievements
- 1996: Ironman AwardIronman AwardThe Ironman Award was awarded annually since 1989 by the International Hockey League to the player who played in all his team's games while displaying outstanding offensive and defensive abilities.-Winners:-References:* www.hockeydb.com...
, International Hockey League, given to a player who has played in every game for his team and displayed outstanding offensive and defensive skills. - 2005: Riga Secondary School No. 55 was named in honour of Sergejs Žoltoks.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga was an ice hockey club, based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 1946 and disestablished in 1995 as Pārdaugava Rīga.-History of Dinamo Riga:... |
LHL Latvian Hockey League The Latvian Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league based in Latvia. It is also known in Latvian as Latvijas atklātais čempionāts hokejā .... |
39 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Pardaugava Riga | LHL | 27 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 1992–93 AHL season The 1992–93 AHL season was the 57th season of the American Hockey League. Sixteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Binghamton Rangers finished first overall in the regular season with 124 points, a which holds to this day... |
Providence Bruins Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the primary development team for the NHL's Boston Bruins. They play in Providence, Rhode Island at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.-History:... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
64 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 57 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
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 Las Vegas Thunder The Las Vegas Thunder were an independent professional ice hockey team competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the Thomas & Mack Center. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999... |
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 Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
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 Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL | 70 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 1998–99 AHL season The 1998–99 AHL season was the 63rd season of the American Hockey League. Nineteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Providence Bruins finished first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship.-Team changes:... |
Fredericton Canadiens Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre... |
AHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 1999–2000 AHL season The 1999–2000 AHL season was the 64th season of the American Hockey League. Nineteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hartford Wolf Pack finished first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship.-Team changes:... |
Quebec Citadelles Quebec Citadelles The Quebec Citadelles were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at the Colisée Pepsi... |
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 Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
NHL | 37 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Minnesota Wild Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
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 Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | HK Riga 2000 HK Riga 2000 HK Riga 2000 was a Belarusian Extraliga team based in Riga, Latvia. The team had played in the LHL since it was founded. In 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons the club also iced a team in the Belarusian Hockey League, and in 2005-06 finished 3rd. HK Riga 2000 was first foreign team to finish in top three... |
BHL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 588 | 111 | 147 | 258 | 166 | 45 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Soviet Soviet national ice hockey team The Soviet national ice hockey team , was the national hockey team of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were the most dominant team of all time in international play. The team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 held by the International Ice Hockey Federation... |
EJC | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| 1991 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 15th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held in various communities in Saskatchewan, Canada... |
Soviet | WJC World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 20 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world... |
7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1992 1992 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1992 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 16th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was held from December 26, 1991 until January 4, 1992. It was held in Füssen and Kaufbeuren, Germany... |
CIS | WJC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 1994 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships - Group 2 :- Quarterfinals :- Consolation Round 11-12 Place :- Semifinals :- Match for third place :- Final :-World Championship Group B :... |
Latvia | WC-B | 4 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 1997 1997 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships - Group 2 :- Second Round 1-6 Place :Teams that had played each other in the first round carried those results forward. First and second place played off for gold, third and fourth for bronze.- Consolation Round 7-12 Place :... |
Latvia | WC | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 1999 1999 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships -World Championship Group C:Played at Eindhoven and Tilburg, Netherlands April 5–11. Yugoslavia was supposed to particpate in this tournament, but was prevented by the host Dutch government.-Group 1:-Group 2:-Final Round 25-28 Place:... |
Latvia | WC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2001 2001 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships -Championship:Final standings# # # # # # # # # # # # # # — relegated to Division I for 2002# — relegated to Division I for 2002# - Group A :Group A was played in Grenoble, France between April 16 and April 22, 2001... |
Latvia | WC | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 2002 2002 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2002 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held between April 26 and May 11, 2002 in Gothenburg, Karlstad and Jönköping, Sweden.It was the 66th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation .- Championship :... |
Latvia | WC | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2004 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2004 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held April 24-May 9, 2004, in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. Games for this Ice Hockey World Championships tournament were played at Sazka Arena and ČEZ Aréna... |
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 | ||