Pēteris "Peter" Skudra (born April 24, 1973) is a Latvian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

and

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. During a playing career that lasted from 1994 to 2007 he played for several teams in Latvia, Russia and North America. After starting his career in Latvia, Skudra moved to the North American minor leagues in 1994. He signed with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) in 1997 and made his debut that year. Over the next six seasons Skudra played for the Penguins,

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. In 2003 he moved to Russia, playing the last four seasons of his career. Playing in the NHL primarily as a back-up goalie, Skudra appeared in 146 games during his career.

Playing career

Originally signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh in 1997, Skudra went on to play 74 games with the Penguins over three years. After the 1999–2000 season, he was signed by the Boston Bruins. After playing for the Bruins in 2000–01 season, he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks as a backup to Dan Cloutier. Towards the end of the 2002–03 season, Skudra fell out of favor with coach

Marc Crawford Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently was the assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cu ...

who instead decided to have

Alex Auld Alexander James Auld (born January 7, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Auld played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Dal ...

backup Dan Cloutier for that season's playoffs. In 2003, Skudra left North America for the Russian League, where he played for

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...

, Khimik Moscow Oblast,

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

, and

Metallurg Novokuznetsk Metallurg Novokuznetsk (russian: Металлург Новокузнецк) is a professional ice hockey team from Siberia based in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. They are currently members of the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). History The ...

. On October 22, 2007, Skudra announced his retirement after 13 professional seasons.

Coaching career

In April 2013 Skudra was announced as the new head coach of Russian club, Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod of the KHL. He spent five seasons with the team. He also briefly coached

Traktor Chelyabinsk Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor (russian: Трактор), is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ...

in 2019. On 20 July 2020, Skudra was introduced in a dual general manager and head coaching role with Latvian KHL club, Dinamo Riga.

Roller hockey

Skudra also played one season in the

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in th ...

league for the Oklahoma Coyotes.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skudra, Peter 1973 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres players Erie Panthers players Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Greensboro Monarchs players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players HC CSKA Moscow players HC Khimik Voskresensk players Metallurg Novokuznetsk players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Johnstown Chiefs players Kansas City Blades players Latvian ice hockey goaltenders Manitoba Moose players Memphis RiverKings players Oklahoma Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Soviet ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Riga Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players Latvian ice hockey coaches Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Latvian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Soviet ice hockey goaltenders