Zemgus Girgensons

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Zemgus Girgensons
230 px
Born (1994-01-05) 5 January 1994 (age 30)
Riga, LVA
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Buffalo Sabres
National team  Latvia
NHL Draft 14th overall, 2012
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2012–present

Zemgus Girgensons (born 5 January 1994) is a Latvian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.[1][2] With this selection, Girgensons became the highest-drafted Latvian in NHL history,[3] 16 spots higher than previous highest selection, Sandis Ozoliņš, in 1991.[1] In the previous year, Girgensons was selected in the second round, 28th overall, in the 2011 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Junior Draft by CSKA Moscow.[4]

Playing career

File:Zemgus Girgensons 2013-10-05.JPG
With the Sabres in 2013

Girgensons began playing hockey in EVHS hockey school and was coached by former Dinamo Rīga player Edmunds Vasiļjevs.[5] He played in Latvian minor and youth leagues.[6]

Junior career

In 2009, Girgensons moved to North America and played in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) for the Green Mountain Glades.[7] The next season, he moved to the United States Hockey League (USHL) and played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.[8] In 2011, he became a USHL champion with the Fighting Saints,[9] and he also participated in the USHL All-Star Game.[10] In the 2011–12 season, his last as a junior, Girgensons was named as the captain of the Fighting Saints.[11]

Professional career

Girgensons entered his draft eligibility year as a projected first-round draft pick. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 14th overall. The Sabres had already used their own first-round pick, selecting Mikhail Grigorenko 12th overall, but traded[12] a first-round (21st overall) pick (from Nashville), which Calgary used to select Mark Jankowski, and a second-round (42nd overall) pick, to move up seven spots to draft Girgensons.[12] Before attending the Sabres' prospects' summer camp, Girgensons had committed to going to the University of Vermont Catamounts of the NCAA;[13] however, he signed a professional contract with the Sabres on 13 July 2012, which forfeited his NCAA eligibility.[14][15]

Girgensons began the 2012–13 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rochester Americans. He had a slow start to the season and, at the beginning of 2013, he suffered an injury from a late hit by Richard Pánik of the Syracuse Crunch.[16] However, he finished the season strongly, scoring three goals in the Americans' first-round defeat in the Calder Cup playoffs.[17]

After scoring three goals and adding one assist in five pre-season games, Girgensons began the 2013–14 season in the NHL with the Sabres. He scored his first career NHL goal in the Sabres' season opener against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings on 2 October 2013.[18]

Girgensons was the runaway leader in fan voting for the 2015 All-Star Game, buoyed in large part by votes from his native Latvia.[19]

International play

Girgensons participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as a member of the Latvian junior team and at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships. He made his senior national team debut in 2013 World Championships against the United States and scored his first international goal against Slovakia. He also was suspended for one game for spearing Branislav Mezei in the first period of the match in retaliation for an earlier hit.[20][21][22]

On 7 January 2014, it was announced that Latvia Head Coach Ted Nolan had included Girgensons on his national team roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[23] Girgensons scored his first Olympic goal in Latvia's third tournament game, coming versus Sweden off of a power play goal against Henrik Lundqvist.[24]

Personal life

Girgensons comes from a hockey family. His father, Aldis Girgensons, played defence for Dinamo Riga.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Green Mountain Glades EJHL 42 28 29 57 19 2 0 2 0 2
2010–11 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 51 21 28 49 46 11 3 5 8 8
2011–12 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 49 24 31 55 69 2 2 2 4 0
2012–13 Rochester Americans AHL 61 6 11 17 28 3 3 0 3 0
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL 70 8 14 22 14 — — — — —
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 61 15 15 30 25 — — — — —
2015–16 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 7 11 18 20 — — — — —
NHL totals 202 30 40 70 59 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Latvia WJC18 9th 6 1 1 2 2
2011 Latvia WJC-D1 11th 5 4 3 7 8
2012 Latvia WJC 9th 6 2 0 2 6
2013 Latvia WC 11th 5 1 0 1 0
2014 Latvia OG 8th 5 1 1 2 2
2014 Latvia WC 11th 6 2 0 2 29
2016 Latvia WC 13th 7 1 0 0 4
Junior totals 17 7 4 11 16
Senior totals 19 4 1 5 31

Awards

USHL
NHL
Other

References

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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ McLaren, Ian (9 December 2014). Sabres' Girgensons dominating All-Star voting after 3 weeks. The Score. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
2012		 Succeeded by
Rasmus Ristolainen
Preceded by Latvian Rising Sportspersonality of the Year
2013		 Succeeded by
Jeļena Ostapenko
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