Anže Kopitar

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Position Centre
Shoots Left
Height
Weight		 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
220 lb (100 kg/15 st 10 lb)
NHL Team Los Angeles Kings
Nationality Flag of Slovenia Slovenia
Born August 24, 1987 (1987-08-24) (age 20),
Jesenice, Yugoslavia
NHL Draft 11th overall, 2005
Los Angeles Kings
Pro career 2004 – present

Anže Kopitar (born August 24, 1987) is a Slovenian professional ice hockey player. He was the 11th overall draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Kopitar is the first Slovenian national to play in the NHL[1], having been born in Jesenice which was within Yugoslavia at the time of his birth.

Contents

[edit] Career

Kopitar made his NHL debut on October 6, 2006, at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, against the Anaheim Ducks. He scored two goals as the Kings lost 4-3.[2] In his home debut at Staples Center the following night, he had three assists in a 4-1 Kings victory against the St. Louis Blues.[3]

Kopitar is generally regarded as more of an offensive player. In his first season, Kopitar finished third in rookie points behind Evgeni Malkin and Paul Stastny despite being injured for a significant portion of the regular season.[citation needed] Thus far in the 2007-08 NHL season, Kopitar leads the Kings in scoring as a sophomore.[4]

On January 10, 2008, Kopitar was selected to represent the Western Conference at the 56th Annual NHL All-Star Game.[5]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Anže Kopitar became the first Slovenian hockey player to play in the NHL when he made his career debut October 6, 2006, scoring two goals on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Kopitar's father Matjaž was also a hockey player and coached Slovenian champions Jesenice of the Austrian Hockey League.
  • Anže used to live in Hermosa Beach and now lives in Manhattan Beach.
  • Anže's younger brother Gašper Kopitar currently plays for the LA Junior Kings Midget AAA 16U Team.[6]

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004-05 Södertälje SK Elitserien 5 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0
2005-06 Södertälje SK Elitserien 47 8 12 20 28 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 20 41 61 24 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 32 45 77 22 -- -- -- -- --
NHL totals 154 52 86 138 46 -- -- -- -- --
Elitserien totals 52 124 28 152 52 10 0 0 0 0

[edit] References

  1. ^ Grossman, Evan (2007). When it comes to hockey, it's a small world. NHL.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
  2. ^ Matsuda, Gann. "Rookie Kopitar Shines In Debut, But Can’t Do It Alone", Online Kingdom, 2007-10-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  3. ^ Matsuda, Gann. "Kopitar Does It Again", Online Kingdom, 2007-10-08. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  4. ^ Los Angeles Kings - Statistics - NHL - Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Kings Communications Department (2008-01-10). "Kopitar Named To All-Star Team". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  6. ^ Los Angeles Junior Kings. Welcome to the LAJK MIDGET AAA 16U Team. Los Angeles Junior Kings. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.

[edit] External links

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Los Angeles Kings first-round draft picks
Pagnutti • McInally • Young • Wells • Murphy • Fox • Smith • Redmond • Duncanson • Gratton • Carson • McBean • Gelinas • Sydor • Storr • Berg • Jokinen • Zultek • Biron • Frolov • Karlsson • Steckel • Grebeshkov • Brown • Boyle • Tambellini • Tukonen • Kopitar • Bernier • Lewis • Hickey