Kristaps Sotnieks

Last updated
Kristaps Sotnieks
Kristaps Sotnieks 2012.jpg
Born (1987-01-29) January 29, 1987 (age 38)
Riga, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams
Dinamo Riga
HK Riga 2000
Lada Togliatti
National teamFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia
Playing career 2005present

Kristaps Sotnieks (born January 29, 1987) is a Latvian professional ice-hockey defenseman. He currently plays for Dinamo Riga in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Contents

Playing career

In his first season in senior hockey in 2004/05 Sotnieks mostly played for the reserves squad of HK Riga 2000 which played in the Latvian hockey league, however he also played 5 matches in the main team of Riga 2000 in Belarusian Extraliga. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout the squad of Riga 2000 was quite impressive that year, including NHLers Kārlis Skrastiņš, Sergejs Žoltoks and Darby Hendrickson, thus it was especially tough for youngsters like Sotnieks to get through on the main team. In 2005 Sotnieks played in five matches for Latvia at the U18 World Championships.

The next season Sotnieks was already a regular player in the main team of Riga 2000 which won bronze medals in the Belarusian Extraliga. In 42 matches he scored one goal, gave 4 assists and got 10 penalty minutes. In 2006 Sotnieks represented Latvia at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Canada, earning 2 points for assists as Latvia was relegated to Division I.

The next two years Riga 2000 played only in the Latvian hockey league with Sotnieks as one of the most reliable defenders on the team. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 as a member of Riga 2000 Sotnieks won Latvian league titles.

When Dinamo Riga was formed in 2008 Sotnieks wasn't among the players who were expected to be playing regularly for the side which included former NHLers like Duvie Westcott and Filip Novák, as well as a whole selection of players who had played for Latvia national ice hockey team at several world championships - Atvars Tribuncovs, Rodrigo Laviņš, Guntis Galviņš, Krišjānis Rēdlihs, Oļegs Sorokins and Agris Saviels. Thus Sotnieks was expected to be a leading defender for HK Riga 2000 (the farm club of Dinamo) playing in the Belarusian league. However, Sotnieks became a regular for Dinamo. As of 17 February 2009, he has played 43 matches for Dinamo in the KHL, scoring two goals. [1]

International play

In February 2009 Sotnieks played for Latvia national ice hockey team in the Qualification to 2010 Winter Olympics, scoring two assists in three games and earning Latvia a qualification spot at the Olympics. [2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2004–05 HK Rīga 2000 BLR 50004
2004–05 HK Rīga 2000LAT212131420004
2005–06 HK Rīga 2000BLR371451050000
2005–06 HK Rīga 2000LAT36912
2006–07 HK Rīga 2000LAT3436967112024
2007–08 HK Rīga 2000LAT402242872024
2008–09 Dinamo Rīga KHL 462133430002
2008–09 HK Rīga 2000LAT700014
2009–10 Dinamo RīgaKHL480222890226
2009–10 Dinamo Juniors RīgaBLR10110
2009–10 Dinamo Juniors RīgaLAT51232
2010–11 Dinamo RīgaKHL4526812110114
2011–12 Dinamo RīgaKHL492464160112
2012–13 Dinamo RīgaKHL4735812
2013–14 Dinamo RīgaKHL5356114971120
2014–15 Dinamo RīgaKHL55461034
2015–16 Dinamo RīgaKHL602121426
2016–17 Lada Togliatti KHL56681424
2017–18 Lada TogliattiKHL172028
2018–19 Dinamo RīgaKHL55371028
2019–20 Dinamo RīgaKHL60461020
2020–21 Dinamo RīgaKHL260444
2021–22 Dinamo RīgaKHL2711210
KHL totals64436681043303615614

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
2005 Latvia U18 D1 50002
2006 Latvia WJC 60226
2007 LatviaWJC D151232
2009 Latvia OGQ 30112
2009 Latvia WC 70118
2010 LatviaOG41014
2010 LatviaWC60110
2011 LatviaWC60446
2012 LatviaWC70000
2013 LatviaOGQ30000
2013 LatviaWC700012
2014 LatviaOG50110
2014 LatviaWC71238
2015 LatviaWC700027
2016 LatviaOGQ30112
2016 LatviaWC71232
2017 LatviaWC70220
2018 LatviaWC80220
2019 LatviaWC70110
2021 LatviaWC70220
2021 LatviaOGQ30002
2022 LatviaWC70222
Junior totals1614510
Senior totals1113222575

References

  1. "Dinamo Riga Statistics". Kontinental Hockey League . 2010-02-03. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  2. "Team Latvia Statistics" (PDF). IIHF . 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-08-02.