Rihards Bukarts (born 31 December 1995) is a Latvian 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 hock ...

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. He is currently playing for EC KAC in the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). Bukarts was selected 9th overall in the

2012 KHL Junior Draft The 2012 KHL Junior Draft was the fourth entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on 25–26 May 2012 in Traktor Sport Palace. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selecte ...

by the Dinamo Riga. With the selection, Bukarts became the highest-drafted Latvian in KHL history, four spots higher than his brother Roberts Bukarts in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Playing career

Bukarts is youngest player ever who score in MHL on 15 September 2011 On 2 July 2012 Rihards Bukarts signed with

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LLU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of ...

two-way contract. Bukarts was selected 7th overall in the 2013 CHL Import Draft by Brandon Wheat Kings ( WHL). Bukarts was the highest-drafted player in Wheat Kings' history. In the summer of 2013, Bukarts broke contract with Dinamo Riga and left for North America to play for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. He officially signed a contract on 19 July 2013 with the major junior team. In his first season in North America in 2013–14, Bukarts in 65 games scored (28) goals (WHL Most Goals by Rookie) and gave 26 assists. In the following 2014–15 season, he featured in 62 games, scoring (33) goals totalling the most goals scored by a European player in the team's history (single-season record) as well as adding 41 assists. On February 8, 2015, Bukarts was named Denny's WHL Player of the Week. Bukarted helped the Wheat Kings reach the WHL finals in the post-season, suffering defeat against the Kelowna Rockets. In 16 playoff games, Bukarts scored 4 goals and 18 points. Undrafted, Bukarts accepted a try-out over the summer to attend the 2015 NHL training camp of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. After his release from the Oilers, Bukarts returned to the Wheat Kings for the 2015–16 season before he was traded to the Portland Winterhawks on 29 October 2015. On December 14, 2015, Rihards Bukarts was named 2nd time in his career as the WHL player of the Week. In 55 games with the Winterhawks, Bukarts amassed 53 points. At the conclusion of his major junior career, Bukarts joined the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

of the AHL, an affiliate to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, on an amateur try-out basis to complete the season. He recorded an assist in a solitary game. Bukarts attended the Panthers' rookie camp after signing a one-year deal with the Panthers' inaugural AHL affiliate, the

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; fren ...

. After attending Florida's main training camp, before he was reassigned to begin the 2016–17 season with the Thunderbirds. He split the season between Springfield and the ECHL with the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

. As a free agent in the following off-season, Bukarts returned to Europe in agreeing to an initial one-year contract with HC Zlin of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

on August 21, 2017. In the 2017–18 season, Bukarts left the Czech Republic after 17 games, making appearances in the Kontinental Hockey League with

before completing the season with German club, Eisbären Berlin of the DEL. Bukarts opted to continue in the DEL as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year deal with Schwenninger Wild Wings on July 13, 2018. In the 2018–19 season, Bukarts contributed with 22 points through 42 games, unable to help the Wild Wings progress to the post-season. At the completion of the season, Bukarts left Schwenninger at the conclusion of his contract. On May 13, 2019, Bukarts secured a one-year contract to continue in the DEL with Düsseldorfer EG.

International play

Bukarts participated at the

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and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

IIHF World U18 Championships and also 2013 IIHF World U20 Championships he was a member of the Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team. He finished with the most penalty minutes in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

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Rihards Bukart's MHL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bukarts, Rihards 1995 births Living people Admiral Vladivostok players Brandon Wheat Kings players Dinamo Riga players Düsseldorfer EG players Eisbären Berlin players EC KAC players Latvian ice hockey forwards People from Jūrmala HK Riga players Kapitan Stupino players Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) players Portland Pirates players Portland Winterhawks players Schwenninger Wild Wings players Springfield Thunderbirds players PSG Berani Zlín players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of Latvia