Sergei Zholtok

Sergei Zholtok (Russian: Сергей Жолток), also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey centre 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.

Sergei Zholtok
Žoltoks with Latvia
Born (1972-12-02)December 2, 1972
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Died November 3, 2004(2004-11-03) (aged 31)
Minsk, Belarus
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Dinamo Riga
Boston Bruins
Ottawa Senators
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Riga 2000
National team  Latvia
NHL Draft 55th overall, 1992
Boston Bruins
Playing career 19902004
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Soviet Union
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1991 Canada
Representing  CIS
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Germany

Playing career

Žoltoks was drafted 55th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 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 Riga 2000 team of the Latvian Hockey Higher League and the Belarusian Extraleague.

Death

On November 3, 2004, his cardiac arrhythmia resurfaced during the game between Riga 2000 and Dinamo Minsk. Žoltoks left the game with five 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.[1][2][3][4][5] He was survived by his wife, Anna, and two sons. This was not the first occurrence; in January 2003, he had to leave the game due to arrhythmia, and had been observed in a hospital overnight. He was allowed to return to playing after missing seven games.

During his ten seasons in the NHL, he played in 588 regular season games, scored 111 goals and had 147 assists.

Awards and achievements

  • 1994: AHL Player of the Week (Dec. 11)
  • 1996: Ironman Award, International Hockey League, given to a player who has played in every game for his team and displayed outstanding offensive and defensive skills.
  • 2005: Riga Secondary School No. 55 was named in honour of Sergejs Žoltoks.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1989–90 RASMS Rīga URS.3
1990–91 Dinamo Rīga URS 3940416
1991–92 Stars Rīga CIS 276396
1992–93 Boston Bruins NHL 10110
1992–93 Providence Bruins AHL 6431356657 63584
1993–94 Boston Bruins NHL 242132
1993–94 Providence Bruins AHL 5429336216
1994–95 Providence Bruins AHL 7823355842 1385136
1995–96 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 82515010130 15713206
1996–97 Ottawa Senators NHL 5712162819 71120
1996–97 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 1913142720
1997–98 Ottawa Senators NHL 7810132316 110220
1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70715226
1998–99 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 73470
1999–00 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6826123828
1999–00 Quebec Citadelles AHL 10112
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32110118
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 374162022 30000
2001–02 Minnesota Wild NHL 7319203928
2002–03 Minnesota Wild NHL 7816264218 18211130
2003–04 Minnesota Wild NHL 5913162919
2003–04 Nashville Predators NHL 111120 61010
2004–05 HK Rīga 2000 BLR 643712
NHL totals 588111147258166 45414180

International

Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM
1990 Soviet Union EJC 664106
1991 Soviet Union WJC 72242
1992 CIS WJC 72466
1994 Latvia WC B 46174
1997 Latvia WC 53362
1999 Latvia WC 64044
2001 Latvia WC 65164
2002 Latvia WC 60442
2004 Latvia WC 732510
Junior totals 2010102014
Senior totals 3015102522

See also

References

  1. Noogie, The (2013-11-03). "Remembering Sergei Zholtok". Hockey Wilderness. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  2. "Ex-Pred Zholtok dies of apparent heart ailment". ESPN.com. 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  3. "Study Adds to Debate over Heart Tests for Athletes". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  4. "Autopsy: Preds' Zholtok died of heart failure". ESPN.com. 2004-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  5. Company, Tampa Publishing. "Loss of Zholtok saddens many". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.