View source for Lauris Dārziņš

{{short description|Latvian ice hockey player}}
{{outdated|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| name = Lauris Dārziņš
| image = Lauris Darzins 2008 cropped.jpg
| image_size = 230px
| caption = Darzins in 2008
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|1|28}}
| birth_place = [[Riga]], [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvian SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| position = [[Winger (ice hockey)|Left wing]]
| league = [[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]]
| team = [[Dinamo Riga]]
| former_teams = [[Ilves Tampere]]<br>[[HC Vsetín]]<br>[[HC Třinec]]<br>[[Ak Bars Kazan]]<br>[[Traktor Chelyabinsk]]
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 201
| ntl_team = LAT
| career_start = 2001
| career_end = 2022
| draft = 268th overall
| draft_year = 2003
| draft_team = [[Nashville Predators]]
}}

'''Lauris Dārziņš''' (born January 28, 1985) is a Latvian professional [[ice hockey]] [[Forward (ice hockey)|forward]] who is currently playing with [[Dinamo Riga]] in the [[Kontinental Hockey League]] (KHL).

==Playing career==
===Junior===
Dārziņš was drafted in the 9th round, 268th overall in the [[2003 NHL Entry Draft]] by the [[Nashville Predators]] out of the junior hockey system [[Finland|Finnish]] team [[Lukko Rauma]]. In the [[2004–05 WHL season|2004–05]] season, Dārziņš played in the [[Major junior hockey|North American]] [[Western Hockey League|WHL]] with the then-reigning [[Memorial Cup]] champion [[Kelowna Rockets]], alongside fellow Predators prospect and 2003 draft choice [[Shea Weber]]. In two seasons with the Rockets, Dārziņš recorded 32 goals and 67 points in 90 games, helping the Rockets win the [[Ed Chynoweth Cup]] in 2005, although they failed to repeat as Memorial Cup champions.

===Return to Europe===
After completing two seasons with the Rockets, Dārziņš went unsigned with the Predators and opted to return to Finland in 2006, signing with [[Ilves Tampere]] of the [[SM-liiga]]. After just thirteen games, Dārziņš moved to [[HC Vsetín]], then of the [[Czech Extraliga]], where he again played just thirteen games, scoring three goals.

In the summer of 2007, Dārziņš signed on with [[HC Třinec]] but played just one game for the club before latching on with [[HK Gomel]] of the [[Belarusian Extraleague]]. Dārziņš finally broke through professionally with a strong campaign for the Belarusian side, with seventeen goals and 34 points in 32 games in the 2007–08 campaign, leading the team in goals and points. This strong season garnered him some attention among stronger Eastern European clubs, and on May 27, 2008, he signed on with Russian club [[HC MVD]] of the [[Kontinental Hockey League|newly re-branded Russian SuperLeague]].<ref>Drinnan, Gregg. [http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com/2008/05/some-tuesday-notes.html"Taking Note: Some Tuesday Notes . . .".] 27 May 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.</ref>

===Dinamo Riga===
Dārziņš would never play a game for MVD and eventually landed with the resurrected [[Dinamo Riga]] club in his hometown for the team's [[2008–09 KHL season|inaugural campaign]]. Dārziņš scored just eight goals and seventeen points in 56 games, and the team scored just 132 goals total but found their way into the playoffs before getting swept in the first round by [[HC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]].

Dārziņš would return to Riga in 2009–10 and enjoyed a breakout season. The winger scored fourteen goals, was the third-most on the team, and had 31 total points in 54 games. Riga returned to the playoffs, upsetting top-seeded [[SKA Saint Petersburg]] three games to one, but falling in the second round to MVD four games to one. Dārziņš scored two goals and four points in nine playoff games.

In the spring of 2010, Dārziņš' contract with Riga expired. After being briefly linked with Russian powerhouse club [[Ak Bars Kazan]],<ref>Bērziņš, Artis. [http://www.icebox.lv/lv/news/view/darzins-uz-ak-bars-ceribu-maz "Dārziņš uz Ak Bars? Cerību Maz"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403211309/http://www.icebox.lv/lv/news/view/darzins-uz-ak-bars-ceribu-maz |date=2010-04-03 }}. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=lv&u=http://www.icebox.lv/lv/news/view/darzins-uz-ak-bars-ceribu-maz&ei=LZG_S_6xBYH68Absv-zWCA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.icebox.lv/lv/news/view/darzins-uz-ak-bars-ceribu-maz%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DSx0%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official Translation from Latvian].</ref> Dārziņš revealed that he had been in contact with scouts with the NHL club that drafted him, the [[Nashville Predators]],<ref>Lācis, Mārtiņš. [http://www.apollo.lv/portal/sports/articles/198849 "Dārziņš: vēl vakar zvanīja Nešvilas «Predators» skauts"]. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=lv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apollo.lv%2Fportal%2Fsports%2Farticles%2F198849 Translation from Latvian].</ref> about a possible return to North American hockey. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Dārziņš was the fourth-leading scorer in Riga's two-year history, with 47 points in 112 games.

Dārziņš ultimately spurned any forays into North America in favor of another season with his hometown club. He was rewarded with his best offensive totals at any level, scoring 21 goals and 23 assists in 45 games for Dinamo, leading the team in goals and points. Dārziņš was named to the [[3rd Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game|2011 KHL All-Star Game]] in St. Petersburg as part of Team Yashin and finished 16th in the KHL in scoring. Dinamo returned to the Gagarin Cup playoffs, with Dārziņš scoring ten points in eleven games as Riga upset [[UHC Dynamo|Dynamo Moscow]] four games to two in the first round.

On May 3, 2011, Dārziņš joined [[Ak Bars Kazan]] on a multi-year contract.<ref>[http://www.sports.ru/en/hockey/95094550.html"Ak Bars sign Denis Kulyash and Lauris Darzins | Sports.ru in English".]</ref> In June 2013 he was traded to [[Traktor Chelyabinsk]]. In January 2014, Dārziņš returned to Dinamo Riga.

==International play==
Dārziņš has been a regular fixture on the [[Latvia men's national ice hockey team|Latvian national team]] at varying levels since 2002. At 17, he made his debut with the national team at the Division I (second tier) [[IIHF World U18 Championship]], scoring two goals and three total points in five games. Dārziņš returned to the U18s the following year, posting one goal and two points in five games. He broke through with the Under-20 team in 2003 and would go on to play in three Division I [[IIHF World U20 Championship]]s, where he would score 12 goals and 24 points in 15 games over three tournaments.

In 2006, Dārziņš made his debut with the full national team as a 21-year-old in the [[2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships]], which were held in his hometown of [[Riga]]. He has not missed the tournament since his debut, scoring nine goals and twelve points in 23 games over four tournaments.

In February 2010, Dārziņš represented Latvia at the [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver, recording one assist in four games. At the [[Ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2014 Winter Olympics]], he was the leading scorer on the Latvian team with four goals and one assist in five games.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Lauris Dārziņš |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/lauris-darzins-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203021301/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/lauris-darzins-1.html |archive-date=3 December 2016}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" style="background:#fff;"|
! rowspan="99" style="background:#fff;"|
! colspan="5" | [[Regular season]]
! rowspan="99" style="background:#fff;"|
! colspan="5" | [[Playoffs]]
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP
! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]]
! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]]
! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]]
! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [[2000–01 Latvian Hockey League season|2000–01]]
| [[HK Lido Nafta Rīga]]
| [[Latvian Hockey League|LAT]]
| 20
| 12
| 15
| 27
|
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2001–02
| [[Lukko]]
| FIN U18
| 7
| 4
| 1
| 5
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 2001–02
| Lukko
| [[U20 SM-sarja|FIN U20]]
| 5
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002–03
| Lukko
| FIN U18
| 13
| 10
| 10
| 20
| 6
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 2002–03
| Lukko
| FIN U20
| 13
| 6
| 4
| 10
| 6
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04
| Lukko
| FIN U20
| 35
| 17
| 8
| 25
| 14
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2004–05 WHL season|2004–05]]
| [[Kelowna Rockets]]
| [[Western Hockey League|WHL]]
| 53
| 19
| 15
| 34
| 38
| 24
| 7
| 7
| 14
| 10
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2005–06 WHL season|2005–06]]
| Kelowna Rockets
| WHL
| 47
| 13
| 20
| 33
| 26
| 6
| 5
| 1
| 6
| 2
|- 
| [[2006–07 SM-liiga season|2006–07]]
| [[Ilves]]
| [[SM-liiga|SM-l]]
| 13
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 6
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2006–07 Czech Extraliga season|2006–07]]
| [[Vsetínská hokejová]]
| [[Czech Extraliga|ELH]]
| 13
| 3
| 0
| 3
| 22
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2007–08 Czech Extraliga season|2007–08]]
| [[HC Oceláři Třinec]]
| ELH
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2007–08 Belarusian Extraliga season|2007–08]]
| [[HK Gomel]]
| [[Belarusian Extraliga|BLR]]
| 32
| 17
| 18
| 35
| 46
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2008–09 KHL season|2008–09]]
| [[Dinamo Rīga]]
| [[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]]
| 56
| 8
| 8
| 16
| 56
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2009–10 KHL season|2009–10]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 54
| 14
| 17
| 31
| 30
| 9
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 12
|-  
| [[2010–11 KHL season|2010–11]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 45
| 21
| 23
| 44
| 70
| 11
| 5
| 5
| 10
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2011–12 KHL season|2011–12]]
| [[Ak Bars Kazan]]
| KHL
| 15
| 2
| 5
| 7
| 8
| 4
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
|-  
| [[2012–13 KHL season|2012–13]]
| Ak Bars Kazan
| KHL
| 28
| 4
| 8
| 12
| 6
| 9
| 4
| 0
| 4
| 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2013–14 KHL season|2013–14]]
| [[Traktor Chelyabinsk]]
| KHL
| 19
| 3
| 3
| 6
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| 2013–14
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 10
| 2
| 4
| 6
| 8
| 7
| 4
| 1
| 5
| 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[2014–15 KHL season|2014–15]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 56
| 13
| 19
| 32
| 22
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2015–16 KHL season|2015–16]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 59
| 10
| 18
| 28
| 6
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2016–17 KHL season|2016–17]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 56
| 11
| 18
| 29
| 10
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2017–18 KHL season|2017–18]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 24
| 5
| 13
| 18
| 15
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2018–19 KHL season|2018–19]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 62
| 18
| 26
| 44
| 32
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2019–20 KHL season|2019–20]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 54
| 11
| 21
| 32
| 14
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2020–21 KHL season|2020–21]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 41
| 7
| 16
| 23
| 8
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-  
| [[2021–22 KHL season|2021–22]]
| Dinamo Rīga
| KHL
| 36
| 3
| 15
| 18
| 12
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | KHL totals
! 615
! 132
! 214
! 346
! 302
! 43
! 15
! 8
! 23
! 22
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! Result
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | 
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-  
| [[2002 IIHF World U18 Championships|2002]]
| [[Latvia men's national under-18 ice hockey team|Latvia]]
| [[IIHF World U18 Championship|WJC18 D1]]
| 15th
| 5
| 2
| 1
| 3
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|2003]]
| [[Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team|Latvia]]
| [[IIHF World U20 Championship|WJC D1]]
| 18th
| 5
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 0
|-  
| [[2003 IIHF World U18 Championships|2003]]
| Latvia
| WJC18 D1
| 17th
| 5
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|2004]]
| Latvia
| WJC D1
| 16th
| 5
| 6
| 4
| 10
| 6
|-  
| [[2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|2005]]
| Latvia
| WJC D1
| 12th
| 5
| 4
| 6
| 10
| 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2006 IIHF World Championship|2006]]
| [[Latvia men's national ice hockey team|Latvia]]
| [[Ice Hockey World Championships|WC]]
| 10th
| 6
| 2
| 0
| 2
| 6
|-  
| [[2007 IIHF World Championship|2007]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 13th
| 6
| 3
| 2
| 5
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2008 IIHF World Championship|2008]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 10th
| 6
| 2
| 1
| 3
| 16
|- 
| [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification|2009]]
| Latvia
| [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games|OGQ]]
| Q
| 3
| 3
| 1
| 4
| 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2009 IIHF World Championship|2009]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 7th
| 7
| 2
| 0
| 2
| 18
|-  
| [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2010]]
| Latvia
| OG
| 12th
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 1
| 10
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2011 IIHF World Championship|2011]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 13th
| 3
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 4
|- 
| [[Ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification|2013]]
| Latvia
| OGQ
| Q
| 3
| 3
| 2
| 5
| 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2013 IIHF World Championship|2013]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 11th
| 7
| 5
| 1
| 6
| 2
|-  
| [[Ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2014]]
| Latvia
| OG
| 8th
| 5
| 4
| 1
| 5
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2015 IIHF World Championship|2015]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 13th
| 7
| 3
| 7
| 10
| 2
|- 
| [[Ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification|2016]]
| Latvia
| OGQ
| DNQ
| 3
| 0
| 3
| 3
| 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[2019 IIHF World Championship|2019]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 10th
| 7
| 3
| 3
| 6
| 4
|-  
| [[2021 IIHF World Championship|2021]]
| Latvia
| WC
| 11th
| 7
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification|2021]]
| Latvia
| OGQ
| Q
| 3
| 0
| 4
| 4
| 0
|- 
| [[Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament|2022]]
| Latvia
| OG
| 11th
| 3
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 2
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4" | Junior totals
! 25
! 15
! 14
! 29
! 14
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4" | Senior totals
! 86
! 36
! 30
! 66
! 70
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Ice hockey stats}}
* {{Olympics.com|lauris-darzins}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{LOK profile|id=593|old_id=lauris-darzins-593|archive=20210919132408}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darzins, Lauris}}
[[Category:1985 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ak Bars Kazan players]]
[[Category:Dinamo Riga players]]
[[Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia]]
[[Category:HK Gomel players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Ilves players]]
[[Category:Kelowna Rockets players]]
[[Category:Latvian ice hockey left wingers]]
[[Category:Nashville Predators draft picks]]
[[Category:Olympic ice hockey players for Latvia]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from Riga]]
[[Category:VHK Vsetín players]]
[[Category:HC Oceláři Třinec players]]
[[Category:Traktor Chelyabinsk players]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Finland]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Russia]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Canada]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus]]
[[Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in Finland]]
[[Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada]]
[[Category:Expatriate ice hockey players in Belarus]]
[[Category:Latvian expatriate ice hockey people]]