Artūrs Kulda (born 25 July 1988) is a Latvian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who is currently under contract with

EC VSV EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV are an ice hockey team in the ICE Hockey League. They play their home games at Stadthalle (capacity approximately 4,500 spectators) in Villach, Austria. The team colors are blue and white. Their mascot is an eagle - Vill ...

of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He is the older brother of Edgars Kulda.

Playing career

Kulda was a seventh-round 200th selection of the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He made his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) debut with the Thrashers on 12 February 2010 against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

. He was a member of the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

championship team in 2008. While playing for

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

at the 2011 World Championships, in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, Kulda checked Radek Martínek of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

into the boards, knocking him unconscious and requiring him to be hospitalized. Kulda was suspended three games for the hit because he made contact with Martínek's head and left his feet to deliver the hit. On 15 July 2012, Kulda signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

. At the end of 2012–13 season with Novosibirsk, Kulda signed a pro-rated one-year contract to return with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

of the NHL. Kulda did not dress for any game before returning abroad. On 15 July 2013, Kulda signed a two-year contract with his second KHL club,

Salavat Yulaev Ufa Hockey Club Salavat Yulaev (; ), commonly referred as Salavat Yulaev Ufa, is a professional ice hockey club based in Ufa, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Established in 1957, Salavat Yu ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links