Born	August 3, 1972 (1972-08-03) (age 37), Riga, Latvian SSR
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
KHL team F. teams	Dinamo Riga New York Rangers Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Florida Panthers Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks
Ntl. team	Latvia
NHL Draft	30th overall, 1991 San Jose Sharks
Pro career	1990 – present

Sandis Ozoliņš (English: Sandis Ozolinsh; pronounced /ˈsɑːndɨs ˈoʊzoʊlɪntʃ/;^{[need stress on surname]} born August 3, 1972) is a Latvian ice hockey player and captain for Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League. He is a 7-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion, Norris Trophy finalist, the all-time leader for points and games played by a Latvian in the NHL, the all-time goal leader among defencemen in San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche history and the second highest paid sportsman in Latvian history, after NBA basketball player Andris Biedriņš. He is often considered a prototype "offensive defenseman," in that he becomes heavily involved in his team's offense and scoring opportunities.

Ozoliņš was drafted in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks, as the 8th pick of the 2nd round, 30th overall. He has skated for the San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers.

Ozoliņš is also the owner of Vilki OP/LaRocca of the Riga Open Championship. Ozoliņš also owns other Latvian sports ventures, including Latvia's first 18-hole golf course, Ozo Golf Club.

[edit] Playing career

Ozolinsh, born in Latvia, played his earliest hockey for the Soviet Union, which was still in existence in 1990-91. By 1992, the team was playing under the new flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and won the World Junior Championships, giving Ozolinsh his only medal from international competition.

Just prior to that win, Ozolinsh was drafted 30th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft and had already started playing for the Kansas City Blades, a minor league team in the International Hockey League. Ozolinsh didn't stay in the minors very long, though, joining the Sharks in 1992-93. Immediately his scoring touch was revealed. He scored 23 points in 37 games his rookie season, and followed that with an 81 game, 64 point sophomore effort. That points total would be the second-highest of his career.

Ozolinsh stayed with the Sharks for just one more full season, and at the start of the 1995-96 campaign, San Jose traded him for Nordiques/Avalanche forward Owen Nolan.

[edit] Colorado Avalanche

In 66 games during his first season, Sandis scored 50 total points, with more than half on the power play. The Avs went on to win the Stanley Cup that season. The following season he played well garnering votes for the Norris Trophy given to the leagues most outstanding defencemen. The following three seasons with the Avalanche weren't as successful, but he continued to play well only dipping below .70 points per game in 1999-2000, his final year in Denver.

[edit] Hurricanes, Panthers, Ducks

During the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Ozolinsh was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Nolan Pratt and draft picks that became Vaclav Nedorost, Jared Aulin, and Agris Saviels.

Ozolinsh played just one and a half seasons with Carolina before being traded to the Florida Panthers. During 2001-02, the Panthers sent him to Anaheim. During this time, his offense began to tail off a bit, as age was showing its signs. He still enjoyed an appearance in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals with the Mighty Ducks, but his second Cup would prove elusive.

[edit] Recent Years

During the 2005-06 season, Sandis was traded from the Ducks to the New York Rangers for a third-round draft pick (which the Rangers had obtained earlier in a trade with the San Jose Sharks) at the March 9, 2006 trade deadline. On December 18, 2006, on the heels of a 6–1 loss to New Jersey, the Rangers placed Ozoliņš on waivers. After clearing waivers, Ozoliņš was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), but a short while later he was put on the injured reserve instead. That started his battle with alcohol and injury began to unravel his career. Combined with a serious knee problem, his entry into the league's substance abuse program and a drunk driving arrest looked to be the end of the road for him.

After re-hab, he signed a one-year contract with the Sharks on November 2, 2007 and scored 3 goals and gave 13 assists in 38 games.

In 2009 after a few years away from the game, Sandis signed and is currently playing for Dinamo Riga as a captain for the first time in his career. In October, 2009 it was cofirmed that Ozolinsh has shoulder injury and in November he will be under operation and it's expected him to be without play for the rest year. Ozolinsh also confirmed that he will not return to national team in Olympics 2010.

[edit] Transactions

• October 26, 1995 - Traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Owen Nolan.

• June 24, 2000 - Traded by the Colorado Avalanche, along with Columbus' 2000 2nd round draft choice, to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Nolan Pratt, Carolina's 2000 1st round draft choice, Carolina's 2nd round draft choice and Philadelphia's 2000 2nd round draft choice.

• January 16, 2002 - Traded by the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Byron Ritchie, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Bret Hedican, Kevyn Adams and Tomáš Malec.

• January 30, 2003 - Traded by the Florida Panthers, along with Lance Ward to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in exchange for Pavel Trnka, Matt Cullen and Anaheim's 2003 4th round draft choice.

• March 9, 2006 - Traded by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to the New York Rangers in exchange for San Jose's 2006 3rd round draft choice.

• November 2, 2007 - Signed a one year deal for US$850,000 with the San Jose Sharks.

• July 13, 2009 - Signed a one year deal with the Dinamo Riga.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] International play

¹ - during the tournament, USSR broke up and team was recalled as CIS national team, but Ozoliņš and Sergei Zholtok were from Latvia, which wasn't member of CIS so some other teams protested, but the protest was denied.

[edit] Awards

• 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 - Played in NHL All-Star Game.
• 1996–97 - NHL First Team All-Star
• 1995–96 - Won Stanley Cup with Colorado Avalanche

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sandis Ozoliņš

• Sandis Ozoliņš's NHL player profile
• Ozo Golf Club - In English and Latvian
• Sandis Ozoliņš at TSN.ca
• Sandis Ozoliņš's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Sandis Ozoliņš KHL player profile
• http://www.tvnet.lv/zinas/latvija/article.php?id=83247