Ronalds Ķēniņš

Ronalds Ķēniņš

Kenins in February 2015
Born (1991-02-28) February 28, 1991
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NLA team
Former teams		 ZSC Lions
Vancouver Canucks
National team  Latvia
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–present

Ronalds Ķēniņš (born February 28, 1991) is a Latvian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the ZSC Lions of the National League A (NLA). He previously played for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kenins plays with a Swiss player-license and isn't considered an import player in the NLA.

Playing career

Ķēniņš played junior hockey in Latvia and Switzerland. At 17 years-of-age, he started his professional career with GCK Lions of the National League B (NLB), Switzerland's second-tier league, in 2008–09. After three seasons with the Lions organization, Kenins joined ZSC Lions of the top-tier National League A (NLA). Following the 2012–13 season, he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks on July 30, 2013.[1] He remained in Switzerland for the 2013–14 season and recorded an NLA career-high eight goals and 25 points in 39 games.

Ķēniņš moved to North America for the 2014–15 season and was assigned to the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets. After being called up midway through the season, Kenins made his NHL debut on January 30, 2015, against the Buffalo Sabres (a team that featured fellow Latvian Zemgus Girgensons and the former Latvian national team's head coach, Ted Nolan).[2] The following game, Ķēniņš scored his first career NHL goal against Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild on February 1, 2015.[3] On April 17, Ķēniņš scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal on a one-timer assisted by linemate and fellow rookie Bo Horvat.

On August 17, 2016, Kenins agreed as a free agent to a two-year contract with former team, the ZSC Lions of the NLA.[4]

International play

At the junior level, Ķēniņš played for Latvia in two IIHF World U18 Championships (second tier Division I play) and two IIHF World U20 Championships (one year in Division I and another in the top tier). He made his debut with Latvia's men's team at the 2011 IIHF World Championship and has gone on to play in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In February 2014, he played for Latvia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 GC Küsnacht Lions NLB 42 2 8 10 24 — — — — —
2009–10 GC Küsnacht Lions NLB 4 1 3 4 4 — — — — —
2010–11 GC Küsnacht Lions NLB 11 1 2 3 8 — — — — —
2011–12 ZSC Lions NLA 47 6 12 18 48 15 0 4 4 6
2012–13 ZSC Lions NLA 45 3 14 17 12 12 4 4 8 10
2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 39 8 17 25 40 18 4 0 4 6
2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 36 5 7 12 23 — — — — —
2014–15 Vancouver Canucks NHL 30 4 8 12 8 5 1 1 2 4
2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 41 5 18 23 44 4 0 2 2 2
2015–16 Vancouver Canucks NHL 8 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 38 4 8 12 14 5 1 1 2 4
NLA totals 131 17 43 60 100 45 8 8 16 22

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Latvia WJC18 D-1 5 0 1 1 2
2009 Latvia WJC18 D-1 5 3 0 3 4
2010 Latvia WJC 6 2 2 4 6
2011 Latvia WJC D-1 5 0 3 3 4
2011 Latvia WC 6 0 0 0 0
2012 Latvia WC 5 1 2 3 6
2013 Latvia OGQ 3 1 1 2 2
2013 Latvia WC 7 0 1 1 6
2014 Latvia Oly 5 0 0 0 2
2014 Latvia WC 7 0 4 4 4
Junior totals 21 5 6 11 16
Senior totals 33 2 8 10 20

References

  1. ↑ "Canucks sign Latvian forward Ronalds Kenins". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kenins makes debut in the NHL against Sabres". Buffalo Sabres. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2015-01-30.
  3. ↑ "Kenins nets first for Canucks against Wild". National Hockey League. 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  4. ↑ "Ronalds Kenins returns to ZSC Lions" (in German). ZSC Lions. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.