Shot Right Height 1.83 m Position Centerman Role Ice hockey player Career end 2004 | Name Sergejs Zoltoks Career start 1992 Playing career Weight 84 kg | |
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Born December 2, 1972
Riga, Soviet Union ( 1972-12-02 ) Played for Boston Bruins
Ottawa Senators
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators National team Latvia
CIS &
Soviet Union NHL Draft 55th overall, 1992
Boston Bruins Died November 3, 2004, Minsk, Belarus | ||
Latvijas hokeja musketieris - Sergejs Žoltoks
Sergei Zholtok (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey center who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.
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Playing career
Žoltoks was drafted by the Boston Bruins 55th overall in 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to being drafted, he won a gold medal with USSR national team in IIHF Junior World Championships in 1992. After playing 25 games with the Boston Bruins in the 1992–93 NHL season and the 1993–94 NHL season, Žoltoks spent the next years playing in minor leagues.
Žoltoks returned to the NHL in the 1996–97 NHL season with the Ottawa Senators. In the following years, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Žoltoks returned to Latvia and played for the Riga 2000 team in the Latvian national hockey championship and the Open Belarus hockey championship. On November 3, 2004, his cardiac arrhythmia resurfaced during the game between HK Riga 2000 (Latvia) and HC Dinamo Minsk (Belarus). Žoltoks left the game with 5 minutes remaining, collapsing and dying after returning to the dressing room in the arms of teammate Darby Hendrickson. An autopsy determined heart failure as the cause of death. He was survived by his wife, Anna, and two sons. This was not the first occurrence; in January 2003 he had to leave a game due to this arrhythmia, and had been observed in a hospital overnight. He was allowed to return to play after missing seven games.
During his 10 years in the NHL, he played in 588 regular-season games, scored 111 goals and had 147 assists.
Awards and achievements
