Nigel Dawes

Nigel Alexander Dawes (born February 9, 1985) is a Canadian-Kazakhstani professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He previously played seven seasons for Barys Astana before joining Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. He also played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers.

Nigel Dawes
Dawes with the Calgary Flames in 2009
Born (1985-02-09) February 9, 1985
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams
Ak Bars Kazan
New York Rangers
Phoenix Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Atlanta Thrashers
Montreal Canadiens
Barys Astana
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
National team  Kazakhstan
NHL Draft 149th overall, 2003
New York Rangers
Playing career 2004present

Playing career

Dawes played junior ice hockey for the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League. In his first year, the Ice won the Memorial Cup after winning the President's Cup as champions of the WHL.[1] Dawes improved his play in his next two seasons in the WHL, and, for the 2003–04 season, he was named a first team All-Star in the Western Conference, the winner of the Brad Hornung Trophy (most sportsmanlike),[2] and the Ice's most valuable player.

Dawes with the Rangers

Dawes was drafted in the fifth round, 149th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, after two seasons in the WHL. After three seasons of junior hockey and four games in the American Hockey League for the Hartford Wolf Pack at the end of the 2003–04 season, the Rangers signed Dawes to his first professional contract on September 1, 2004, when he was 19 years old.[2] Dawes went on to play another season with the Ice, recognized for his talent as a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year), before breaking into the professional game in the AHL. Dawes finished his Kootenay Ice career as the franchise leader in goals, with 159 scored in 245 games.

Dawes scored his first NHL goal against Andrew Raycroft on October 21, 2006, in the Rangers 5–4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.[3] After playing in seven games then being a healthy scratch for seven of the next eight, Dawes was sent down to play with the Wolf Pack for the rest of the 2006–07 season.[4] He returned to play in the Rangers' final game of the playoffs on May 6, 2007. Game six against the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Semifinals was Dawes's first NHL playoff game. While Dawes was trying to block a shot, the first Sabres goal deflected off of his body to go into the net past goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers lost the game 5–4 to lose the series 4–2.[5]

Dawes recorded his first NHL assist in the 2007–08 season. Dawes had become a good shootout option for the Rangers, scoring four times on seven attempts at that point. During regular play, played as high as the second line at points during the 2007–08 season.[6]

On July 16, 2008, Dawes re-signed with the Rangers to a one-year, $587,500 contract.[7] On March 4, 2009, Dawes was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes along with Dmitri Kalinin and Petr Průcha for Derek Morris.[8] On July 16, 2009, Dawes was claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames.[9]

On September 8, 2010, Dawes signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $600,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL. He was traded on February 24, 2011, to the Montreal Canadiens, along with Brent Sopel for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

On May 31, 2011, Dawes left the NHL and signed a one-year contract with Kazakh based KHL team, Barys Astana.[10] He continued the relationship through the 2017-18 season.

On July 14, 2020, Dawes as a free agent and the fifth leading scorer in KHL history extended his tenure in Russia, signing a one-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan.[11]

International play

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Junior Championships
2004 Finland
2005 USA

Dawes played for Canada in the 2004 and 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, winning silver and gold medals, respectively. In 2004, Dawes led all players with six goals to go along with five assists in six games, tying for first with 11 points.[2] Two goals and one assist came in the gold medal game against the United States, after which Dawes was named as Canada's player of the game. He registered two goals and four assists in six games in 2005.

On March 24, 2016, the IIHF announced it had approved a request to allow Dawes, Brandon Bochenski, and Dustin Boyd to play for Kazakhstan at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.[12] All three players received Kazakhstani citizenship via naturalization, making them eligible.[13][14]

Personal

His mother is Canadian and his father is Jamaican.[15] He hails from the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01Winnipeg Warriors AAAMMHL36554196741314112510
2000–01Winnipeg SaintsMJHL41230
2001–02Kootenay IceWHL54151934142296158
2002–03Kootenay IceWHL72474592541148126
2003–04Kootenay IceWHL5647237031412310
2003–04Hartford Wolf PackAHL40000
2004–05Kootenay IceWHL635026763012510155
2005–06Hartford Wolf PackAHL77353267211366129
2006–07New York RangersNHL8101010000
2006–07Hartford Wolf PackAHL6527336029756119
2007–08Hartford Wolf PackAHL201420342
2007–08New York RangersNHL6114152910102240
2008–09New York RangersNHL521091915
2008–09Phoenix CoyotesNHL120220
2009–10Calgary FlamesNHL6614183218
2010–11Atlanta ThrashersNHL90110
2010–11Chicago WolvesAHL4727174417
2010–11Hamilton BulldogsAHL19141428720148228
2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL40000
2011–12Barys AstanaKHL521617333471232
2012–13Barys AstanaKHL512014342877294
2013–14Barys AstanaKHL542623491872244
2014–15Barys AstanaKHL6032245648743710
2015–16Barys AstanaKHL5531225316
2016–17 Barys Astana KHL 59 36 27 63 31 10 7 3 10 4
2017–18Barys AstanaKHL4635215626
2018–19 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 60 28 41 69 12 8 2 3 5 0
2019–20Avtomobilist YekaterinburgKHL592030501350112
AHL totals 232 117 116 233 76 40 26 19 45 26
NHL totals 212 39 45 84 43 11 2 2 4 0
KHL totals 496 244 218 462 226 51 23 16 39 26

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Canada Western U17 5th 5 2 2 4 4
2002 Canada U18 5 5 6 11 2
2004 Canada WJC 6 6 5 11 10
2005 Canada WJC 6 2 4 6 6
2016 Kazakhstan OGQ NQ 2 1 1 2 0
2016 Kazakhstan WC 16th 7 4 4 8 4
2017 Kazakhstan WC D1 19th 55490
2020 Kazakhstan OGQ NQ 2 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 22 15 16 32 22
Senior totals 16 10 11 21 4

Awards and honours

Award Year
WHL
West First All-Star Team 2004, 2005
Brad Hornung Trophy 2004
AHL
All-Star Game 2008
Second All-Star Team 2011 [16]
KHL
All-Star Game 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Most Goals (35) 2018

See also

References

  1. "Kootenay down Tigres to win Memorial Cup". Canadian Press. 2002-05-27. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  2. "Rangers sign Nigel Dawes". TSN.ca. 2004-09-01. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  3. "Shanahan's Shootout Goal Carries Rangers Past Leafs". TSN. 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  4. Terranova, Justin (2006-11-14). "Rangers Give Darius Call-up". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  5. Hradek, E.J. (2007-05-06). "It wasn't easy, but Sabres finish job in Game 6". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  6. Zinser, Lynn (2008-03-24). "A Rangers Rookie's Stature Grows With Each Shootout Goal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  7. "Rangers agree to terms with free agent Dawes". TSN.ca. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  8. "Rangers trade for Antropov, Morris". ESPN.com. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  9. "Flames Acquire Forward Nigel Dawes". NHL.com. 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  10. "Astana recruit Montreal duo". hockeysverige.se (in Swedish). 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  11. "Nigel Dawes - Ak Bars player" (in Russian). Ak Bars Kazan. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  12. Davide Tuniz (2016-03-24). "IIHF gives green light to Brandon Bochenski, Nigel Dawes and Dustin Boyd to play for Kazakhstan". eurohockey.com. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  13. Nasilevich, Alexander (25 March 2016). "Kazakhstan gets boost". IIHF Worlds 2016. International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  14. Dixon, Ryan (18 May 2016). "Nigel Dawes at peace with post-NHL life in Kazakhstan". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  15. "Nigel Dawes Wiki". United Press International.
  16. "2010-11 First and Second All-Stars named". American Hockey League. 2011-05-04. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
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