Sergei Zholtok, who was 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.

Playing career

Žoltoks was drafted 55th overall by the Boston Bruins in the

1992 NHL Entry Draft The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was the 30th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Sergei Gonchar, who retire ...

. 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 The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the a ...

and the

1993–94 NHL season The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 26 teams with the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in ...

, Žoltoks spent the next years playing in minor leagues. Žoltoks returned to the NHL in the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. T ...

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 The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Žoltoks returned to Latvia and played for

Riga 2000 HK Riga 2000 was an ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. The team had played in the LHL since it was founded. In 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons the club also iced a team in the Belarusian Hockey League, and in 2005-06 finished 3rd. HK 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

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 Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

as the cause of death. 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 The Ironman Award was awarded annually since 1989 by the International Hockey League to the player who played in all his team's games while displaying outstanding offensive and defensive abilities. Winners ReferencesIronman Awardwww.hockeydb. ...

, 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

International

References

External links

Official Sergei Zholtok Memorial Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoltoks, Sergejs 1972 births 2004 deaths Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Dinamo Riga players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey players who died while playing Latvian ice hockey centres Minnesota Wild players Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players Ottawa Senators players Providence Bruins players Quebec Citadelles players Sport deaths in Belarus Ice hockey people from Riga