Sandis Ozolinsh
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | O-Zone Wizard of Oz |
| Height Weight |
ft in
( m) 220 lb (100 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
San Jose Sharks New York Rangers Anaheim Ducks Florida Panthers Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks |
| Nationality |  Latvia |
| Born | August 3 1972 , Riga, Latvia |
| NHL Draft | 30th overall, 1991 San Jose Sharks |
| Pro Career | 1992 – present |
Sandis Ozolinsh, or Sandis Ozoliņš in his native Latvian (born August 3, 1972 in Riga, Latvia), is a Latvian ice hockey player, currently playing in San Jose Sharks. He is the highest paid sportsman in Latvian history, and the all-time highest scoring Latvian in the NHL.
Ozolinsh was drafted in 1991 by the San Jose Sharks, as the 30th pick in the 2nd round. He has skated for the San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and Anaheim Ducks.
Playing career
Ozolinsh was one of 3 finalists for the Norris Trophy (the NHL award given to the best defencemen of NHL) in the 1996-97 season. He is also a 7-time NHL All-Star.
When on the Colorado Avalanche, he won his one and only Stanley Cup (1996). He was a part of Anaheim's Cinderella run to
the Finals in 2003. In December 2005, Ozolinsh missed a practice skate and failed to
go on a short road trip with the team. Shortly after, he voluntarily entered the NHL's
He 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 Ozolinsh on waivers. After clearing waivers, Ozolinsh was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, but a short while later he was put on injured reserve instead.
Ozolinsh is also the owner of Vilki OP/LaRocca of the Riga Open Championship. Ozolinsh also owns other Latvian sports ventures, including Latvia's first 18-hole golf course, Ozo Golf Club.
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 Tomas Malec.
- January 30, 2003- Traded by the Florida Panthers, along with Lance Ward to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for Pavel Trnka, Matt Cullen and Anaheim's 2003 4th round draft choice.
- March 9, 2006- Traded by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the New York Rangers in exchange for San Jose's 2006 3rd round draft choice.
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990-91 | Dinamo Rīga | RSL | 44 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 51 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Stars Rīga | RSL | 30 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 34 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 22 | ||
| 1992-93 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 37 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 81 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 1994-95 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 48 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 30 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1995-96 | San Francisco Spiders | IHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 66 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 50 | 22 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 16 | ||
| 1996-97 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 80 | 23 | 45 | 68 | 88 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 24 | ||
| 1997-98 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 66 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1998-99 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 39 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 22 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 22 | ||
| 1999-00 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 82 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 46 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | ||
| 2000-01 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 72 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 71 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2001-02 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 46 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 37 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 51 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | NHL | 31 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2003-04 | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | NHL | 36 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Anaheim Mighty Ducks | NHL | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 14 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2006-07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 815 | 164 | 384 | 548 | 606 | 137 | 23 | 67 | 90 | 131 | ||||
International play
| Year | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | USSR | World Junior Championship Div. A | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 1992 | USSR/CIS1 | World Junior Championship Div. A | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 2001 | Latvia | World Championship Div. A | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 2002 | Latvia | Olympic Games | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 | Latvia | World Championship Div. A | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 2005 | Latvia | Olympic Qualification | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2006 | Latvia | Olympic Games | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
1 - during the tournament USSR broke up and team was recalled as CIS national team, but Ozolinsh and Sergei Zholtok were from Latvia, which wasn't member of CIS so some other teams protested, but the protest was denied.
Awards
- 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 - NHL All-Star Game.
- 1997 - NHL first All-Star team
- 1996 - Stanley Cup Champion
External links
- Sandis Ozolinsh's NHL player profile
- Ozo Golf Club - In English and Latvian
- Sandis Ozolinsh's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
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