Mārtiņš Dzierkals

Mārtiņš Dzierkals (born 4 April 1997) is a Latvian ice hockey forward whose rights are owned by Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and plays for the HC Škoda Plzeň in the Tipsport extraliga.

Mārtiņš Dzierkals
Born (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997
Riga, Latvia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
current team
Former teams		 HC Škoda Plzeň
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Orlando Solar Bears
Jukurit
Dinamo Riga
National team  Latvia
NHL Draft 68th overall, 2015
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2014–present

Playing career

In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 68th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1] After two seasons with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he spent much of the 2017–18 season with the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL, before returning to Latvia to play for the Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[2]

On trade deadline day of the 2019–20 NHL season, on 25 February 2020, the Maple Leafs traded Dzierkals rights away in a three-team trade to the Vegas Golden Knights via the Chicago Blackhawks, and gained a 5th-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[3]

After spending the 2019–20 season with Jukurit in the Finnish Liiga, posting 7 goals and 15 points in 39 games, Dzierkals opted to return to his native Latvia by agreeing to a second tenure with Dinamo Riga with a one-year contract on 28 July 2020.[4]

International play

He represented Latvia at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships[5] and the 2019 IIHF World Championship.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 HK Rīga MHL 32 10 18 28 49 3 1 0 1 2
2014–15 Ogre/Sāga97 LHL 6 5 5 10 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 59 24 43 67 42 20 7 10 17 12
2016–17 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 47 21 28 49 44 6 0 2 2 10
2017–18 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 51 15 21 36 46 7 1 2 3 19
2017–18 Toronto Marlies AHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Dinamo Riga KHL 42 5 8 13 22 — — — — —
2018–19 HK Liepāja LHL 4 1 4 5 6 — — — — —
2019–20 Jukurit Liiga 39 7 8 15 16 — — — — —
2020–21 Dinamo Riga KHL 52 10 14 24 49 — — — — —
KHL totals 94 15 22 37 71 — — — — —
Liiga totals 39 7 8 15 16 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Latvia U18-D1 11th 5 0 2 2 16
2015 Latvia U18 9th 6 3 6 9 10
2015 Latvia WJC-D1 13th 5 2 2 4 2
2016 Latvia WJC-D1 11th 5 1 3 4 4
2016 Latvia OGQ DNQ 3 1 0 1 0
2017 Latvia WJC 10th 6 1 2 3 12
2019 Latvia WC 10th 7 0 0 0 0
2021 Latvia WC 11th 6 2 0 2 0
Junior totals 27 7 15 22 44
Senior totals 16 3 0 3 0

References
  1. "Toronto Maple Leafs select Martins Dzierkals 68th overall in 2015 NHL Draft". mapleleafshotstove.com. 27 June 2015.
  2. Johnston, Mike (2018-08-22). "Martins Dzierkals signs in KHL after asking Maple Leafs for trade". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  3. "Lehner traded to Golden Knights, Blackhawks get Subban". NHL.com. 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  4. "Martins Dzierkals will play in Dinamo" (in Latvian). Dinamo Riga. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. Koshan, Terry (2016-12-27). "Latvia's blowout loss doesn't get Dzierkals down". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  6. "Nosaukts Latvijas nacionālās hokeja izlases sastāvs pēdējām pārbaudes spēlēm ar Šveici". lhf.lv. 30 April 2019.
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