Latvian forward Kaspars Daugaviņš, who captained his country to their historic first ever World Championship medal in 2023, today announced his sudden retirement from the sport at age 36, ending a 20+ year pro career spanning teams across seven countries, citing family issues as the reason for the sudden, mid-season announcement.

Coming up in the HK Rīga junior system, Daugaviņš also spent time in the juniors in both Moscow and Toronto before being drafted in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft by Ottawa, joining the Senators organization in 2007. Daugaviņš would debut for the senior club in 2010, playing 91 total NHL games between the Senators and Boston Bruins, before the 2013 NHL lockout prompted what would be his permanent return to Europe. Daugaviņš would spend a season with Genève-Servette of the Swiss League before joining the KHL in 2014, spending seven seasons in Russia with stints with Dynamo, Torpedo, Spartak and Vityaz. Daugaviņš would return to Switzerland with Bern in 2021, spending one season before moving to Iserlohn of the German league, finally landing as captain of Michalovice of the Slovak league in 2023, where he would spend his final two pro seasons. Over 17 pro seasons, Daugaviņš would collect a collective 493 points in 725 career games across six national leagues.

Daugaviņš debuted for the national team on Latvia’s under-18 squad in 2004, holding the unique distinction of playing for the under-18, World Junior and World Championship squads in 2006, the latter being hosted in his hometown of Rīga. 2006 would mark the first of twelve (2006-08, 2010, 2012, 2014-17, 2021, 2023-24) appearances at the World Championship, as Daugaviņš helped turn the Latvian program from a perennial relegation contender to a legitimate threat, capped by their 2023 Cinderella run to the medal rounds, again in Rīga, with Daugaviņš captaining Latvia to Bronze, their first hockey medal in the nation’s history. Daugaviņš also competed at three Olympiad (2010, 2014, 2022), being an integral part of helping Latvia qualify regularly for the Games; his final national team appearance was helping Latvia qualify for the 2026 Games in Milan.

Thanks to Daugaviņš leading Latvia’s stunning run at the 2023 Worlds, he helped Latvia capture their second and third ever IHLC victories, with upset wins over Switzerland and Sweden in the quarterfinals, respectively. We wish Kaspars and his family the very best for his retirement and the things to come!

Photo Credit: IIHF Worlds 2023 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC