Darius Kasparaitis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Defenseman |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname | Kaspar |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 215 lb (98 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
New York Rangers Colorado Avalanche Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders |
| Nationality |  Lithuania & Russia |
| Born | October 16, 1972, Elektrėnai, SU |
| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1992 New York Islanders |
| Pro Career | 1988 – present |
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
| Gold | 1992 Albertville | Ice hockey | |
| Silver | 1998 Nagano | Ice hockey | |
| Bronze | 2002 Salt Lake City | Ice hockey | |
Darius Kasparaitis (born October 16, 1972 in Elektrėnai, U.S.S.R.) is an ethnic Lithuanian professional ice hockey defenseman, also known by the nickname "Kaspar". He has Russian citizenship and plays for the Russian national hockey team.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Kasparaitis left Lithuania for Russia at 14 years of age to play ice hockey at a higher level. Kasparaitis played his first game for HC Dynamo Moscow, one of the premier teams in the Soviet Union at the age of 16 during the 1988-89 season, and won the Soviet League championship with them in 1992.
He was drafted by the New York Islanders with the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Darius has played for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers.
Kasparaitis is known for his aggressive physical playing style - including the famous hipcheck - and has led his teams in hits several times, including his rookie season, in 1992-93 NHL season with the New York Islanders. One of the players that he seemed to single out during that season was Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux. Lemieux had to play with his Lithuanian antagonist when Kasparaitis was traded to the Penguins, a trade that did not only demonstrate Kasparaitis' harsh side but also his scoring talents. Kasparaitis eventually wound up back in the Empire State, being signed to the New York Rangers. It was widely speculated that his contract was going to be bought out prior to the 2005-2006 season. However, the Rangers chose to keep him for leadership purposes. During the 2005-06 season, he served as an alternate captain of the Rangers, along with Jaromir Jagr and Steve Rucchin, as the Rangers had no captain.
Due to the fact that Lithuanian ice hockey team was relatively weak and hadn't ever played in major competitions, Kasparaitis chose to represent Russia in official events. In December of 2005, Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
[edit] Awards
- European Junior Championship All-Star Team - 1990
- World Junior Championships Best Defenceman - 1992
[edit] Family
Kasparaitis is now a naturalized American citizen. He and his first wife Irina (b. 1965 in Russia) have a daughter named Elizabeth. After they divorced, Kasparaitis married again to a Swedish real estate agent named Ingela.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 24 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | New York Islanders | NHL | 79 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 166 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | ||
| 1992-93 | Dynamo Moscow | Rus | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 142 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1994-95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 46 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 93 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | New York Islanders | NHL | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 57 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 84 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1997-98 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 81 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1998-99 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 48 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 70 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 146 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2000-01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 111 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | ||
| 2001-02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 69 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 123 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 2002-03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 85 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Aq Bars Kazan | Rus | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 118 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2005-06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 97 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Rus totals | 79 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 144 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| NHL totals | 839 | 25 | 134 | 159 | 1349 | 81 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 107 | ||||
Statistics as of 20 April 2006
[edit] International play
Played for the Soviet Union in:
- 1990 European Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1991 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
Played for CIS/Unified Team in:
- 1992 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
- 1992 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
Played for Russia in:
- 1992 World Championships
- 1996 World Championships
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
- 1998 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
- 2002 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2006 Winter Olympics (alternate captain)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | CIS | Oly | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1992 | Russia | WC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 1996 | Russia | WC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1996 | Russia | WCH | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 1998 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2002 | Russia | Oly | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2004 | Russia | WCH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 2006 | Russia | Oly | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
[edit] External links and references
Categories: 1972 births | Colorado Avalanche players | Hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics | Hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics | Hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics | Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics | Lithuanian-Americans | Lithuanian Russians | Lithuanian ice hockey players | Living people | National Hockey League first round draft picks | Naturalized citizens of the United States | New York Islanders draft picks | New York Islanders players | New York Rangers players | Olympic bronze medalists for Russia | Olympic gold medalists for the Unified Team | Olympic silver medalists for Russia | Pittsburgh Penguins players | Winter Olympics medalists
