Gašper Kopitar

Gašper Kopitar (born 13 August 1992), is a Slovenian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. He is the younger brother of Anže Kopitar, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.

Gašper Kopitar
Born (1992-08-13) 13 August 1992
Jesenice, Slovenia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Right
Played for Mora IK
Ontario Reign
Manchester Monarchs
National team  Slovenia
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 20122018

Playing career

Kopitar was born in Jesenice, to Matjaž and Mateja Kopitar. In his youth, Kopitar played for the youth team of his hometown, HK Acroni Jesenice. In 2008, he moved to USA and played the rest of his junior years there. On 25 April 2012, he began his senior career, when he signed a contract in Europe with Swedish club Mora IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan.[1] In December 2013 he contracted with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL. Kopitar scored his first goal with the Reign on 5 January 2014 against the San Francisco Bulls, winning the game 3-2 in overtime.

On 1 October 2014, Kopitar agreed to return to the Reign in signing a standard player contract for the 2014–15 season.[2]

On 28 July 2015, Kopitar remained within the Los Angeles Kings ECHL affiliation, signing a one-year contract with the Manchester Monarchs.[3]

Kopitar remained within the Kings ECHL affiliates through parts of six seasons. Suffering from prolonged injury, which ruled him out of the entire 2017–18 season, Kopitar returned to play in 7 games in the following 2018–19 season before opting to end his professional career and announce his immediate retirement on 5 December 2018.[4]

International play

He played his first senior tournament for his country in 2013, when he participated in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which Slovenia won.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2008–9 Los Angeles Jr. Kings U18 T1EHL U18 468122014
2009–10 Portland Winterhawks WHL 100000
2010–11 Portland Winterhawks WHL 21010
2010–11 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 5512122445
2011–12 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 5224153916 40000
2012–13 Mora IK J20 20222
2012–13 Mora IK Allsv 4286144
2013–14 Mora IK J20 11120
2013–14 Mora IK Allsv 130002
2013–14 Ontario Reign ECHL 32812204 40110
2014–15 Ontario Reign ECHL 4111142517 190220
2015–16 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 57924332 20110
2016–17 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 42712196
2018–19 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 70110
Allsv totals 5586146
ECHL totals 17935639829 250440

International

Year Team Event   GPGAPtsPIM
2010 Slovenia WJC-D1 50114
2011 Slovenia WJC-D1 52242
2012 Slovenia WJC-D1 53254
2013 Slovenia Oly 30000
2013 Slovenia WC 40110
Junior totals 15551010
Senior totals 70110

References

  1. "Mora secure Kopitar to contract" (in Swedish). Mora IK. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  2. "Reign bring back Kopitar, Register". Ontario Reign. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  3. "Monarchs ink initial four to contracts". Manchester Monarchs. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. "Gasper Kopitar announces retirement". Manchester Monarchs. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.


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