Teodors Bļugers (anglicized as Theodor "Teddy" Blueger; born 15 August 1994) 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

for 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). He was selected 52nd overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins, making him the third-highest selected Latvian hockey player in the

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, behind

Zemgus Girgensons Zemgus Girgensons (born 5 January 1994) is a Latvian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "the Latvian Locomotive", he was selected 14th overall in the 2012 NHL ...

and

Sandis Ozoliņš Sandis Ozoliņš (born August 3, 1972), commonly spelled Sandis Ozolinsh in North America, is a Latvian former professional ice hockey player and coach. During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup ch ...

Playing career

Bļugers began playing hockey in BHS hockey school, founded by former

Dinamo Rīga 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 ...

player Helmuts Balderis. In 2009 Bļugers moved to North America to play high school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, MN. He committed to a collegiate career with

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is ...

and played four seasons in the NCAA from 2012 to 2016. Bļugers was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2014 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2015–16, Bļugers was named to the All-WCHA First Team. On 22 March 2016, Bļugers signed an entry-level agreement with the

. He finished the 2015–16 season with Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins playing in 10 games. In his first full season with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

, Bļugers set a new franchise record for plus-minus rating by a rookie with a +24. Bļugers made his NHL debut on 30 January 2019, in Pittsburgh's game against the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. On 1 February 2019, Bļugers scored his first NHL goal, against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in a 5–3 Penguins win. On 16 July 2019, Bļugers re-signed with the Penguins on a two-year, one-way contract with an average annual value of $750,000. On 14 July 2021, he was re-signed to a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension with the Penguins.

International play

Teodors Blugers, Denmark U20 - Latvia U20, 19

Bļugers has represented

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

at the international junior level, appearing in the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships and four

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

. He made his senior debut when he was selected to play for

at the 2017 IIHF World Championship. The following year, he was again named to the Latvia national team to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

Personal life

Bļugers has a younger brother, Roberts who also plays hockey.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blugers, Teodors 1994 births Living people Ice hockey people from Riga Latvian ice hockey centres Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players