Gašper Kopitar (born 13 August 1992), is a Slovenian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. He is the younger brother of Anže Kopitar, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.
| Gašper Kopitar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
13 August 1992 Jesenice, Slovenia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Mora IK Ontario Reign Manchester Monarchs | ||
| National team |
 Slovenia | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2012–2018 | ||
Playing career
editKopitar was born in Jesenice, to Matjaž and Mateja Kopitar. In his youth, Kopitar played for the youth team of his hometown, HK Acroni Jesenice. In 2008, he moved to the USA and played the rest of his junior years there. On 25 April 2012, he began his senior career when he signed a contract in Europe with Swedish club Mora IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan.[1] In December 2013 he signed a contract with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL. Kopitar scored his first goal with the Reign on 5 January 2014 against the San Francisco Bulls, winning the game 3-2 in overtime.
On 1 October 2014, Kopitar agreed to return to the Reign, signing a standard player contract for the 2014–15 season.[2]
On 28 July 2015, Kopitar remained within the Los Angeles Kings' ECHL affiliate, signing a one-year contract with the Manchester Monarchs.[3]
Kopitar remained within the Kings' ECHL affiliates through parts of six seasons. Suffering from prolonged injury, which ruled him out of the entire 2017–18 season, Kopitar returned to play in 7 games in the following 2018–19 season before opting to end his professional career and announce his immediate retirement on 5 December 2018.[4]
International play
editKopitar played in his first senior tournament for his country in 2013, when he participated in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which Slovenia won.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2008–09 | Los Angeles Jr. Kings U18 | T1EHL U18 | 46 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 55 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 52 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Mora IK | J20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Mora IK | Allsv | 42 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Mora IK | J20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Mora IK | Allsv | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Ontario Reign | ECHL | 32 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Ontario Reign | ECHL | 41 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 57 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 42 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Allsv totals | 55 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| ECHL totals | 179 | 35 | 63 | 98 | 29 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Slovenia | Oly | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Slovenia | WC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | |||
| Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
References
edit- ^ "Mora secure Kopitar to contract" (in Swedish). Mora IK. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Reign bring back Kopitar, Register". Ontario Reign. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "Monarchs ink initial four to contracts". Manchester Monarchs. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Gasper Kopitar announces retirement". Manchester Monarchs. 5 December 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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