Matīss Kivlenieks
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Matīss Kivlenieks | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Riga, Latvia | August 26, 1996||
Died |
July 4, 2021 Novi, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 24)||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
Weight | 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Left | ||
Played for |
Prizma Riga Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
National team | Latvia | ||
NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
Playing career | 2012–2021 |
Matīss Edmunds Kivlenieks (August 26, 1996 – July 4, 2021) was a Latvian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for Prizma Riga of the Latvian Hockey Higher League (LHL), the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 2012 and 2021.
On July 4, 2021, Kivlenieks died from chest trauma after being struck by fireworks. It was also reported that he had slipped and hit his head on concrete after leaving the hot tub he had been in at the time.
Playing career
Latvia
Kivlenieks played for Prizma Riga in the season of 2011–12.[1] That was his only season with the team, and he only played 1 game with a 9.52 GAA.[1] They decided not to keep him, and he went to the Prizma U18 team, where he played as a third-in-line goaltender playing only 12 games, but had a 2.6 GAA.[1]
Junior
With NHL ambitions, Kivlenieks opted to leave Latvia and continue his development in the North American junior leagues, initially joining the Forest Lake Lakers in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.[2]
Professional
At the end of the season with the Sioux City Musketeers, despite going undrafted, Kivlenieks signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets worth $2,497,500.[3] He started immediately the next season, joining the Blue Jackets, AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.[4]
During the 2019–20 season, Kivlenieks was recalled on multiple occasions to the Blue Jackets before starting in his NHL debut, earning his first NHL win in a 2–1 victory against the New York Rangers on 19 January 2020. He stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced and finished the night with a .969 save percentage.[5]
International play
Kivlenieks was first selected to the senior Latvian national team, serving as the third choice goaltender at the 2018 IIHF World Championship. He later made his World Championship debut with Latvia as the host country of the 2021 IIHF World Championship. Kivlenieks was used as the starting goaltender as he led Latvia to its first win over Canada and also its first loss against Kazakhstan during the group phase.[6]
Death
Kivlenieks died in Novi, Michigan, on July 4, 2021, at the age of 24.[7][8] A representative of the Blue Jackets said he died as the result of a "tragic accident", suffering an apparent head injury in a fall.[7][9] Police reports stated that a firework malfunctioned, and Kivlenieks and some friends jumped out of their hot tub, where he slipped and hit his head on the concrete.[10] Initial medical examiner reports, however, list the cause of death as chest trauma resulting from a strike by a firework mortar.[11]
In a statement, team president John Davidson said Kivlenieks "was an outstanding young man who greeted every day and everyone with a smile and the impact he had during his four years with our organization will not be forgotten".[7][8] Former Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said "Kivlenieks didn't take one day for granted which makes this tragedy even more hard to bear!" [8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Source:[1]
Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
2011–12 | Prizma Riga | LHL | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9.52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | Edina Lakers | MNJHL | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.95 | .908 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 4.59 | .911 | ||
2014–15 | Forest Lake Lakers | MNJHL | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.23 | .930 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 1.75 | .950 | ||
2014–15 | Coulee Region Chill | NAHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 4.05 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2015–16 | Coulee Region Chill | NAHL | 29 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 1618 | 65 | 2 | 2.41 | .925 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 210 | 12 | 0 | 3.42 | .893 | ||
2016–17 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 49 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 2991 | 92 | 5 | 1.85 | .932 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 807 | 28 | 2 | 2.08 | .925 | ||
2017–18 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 43 | 14 | 21 | 4 | 2296 | 123 | 1 | 3.21 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2018–19 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 711 | 44 | 1 | 3.71 | .873 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2018–19 | Kalamazoo Wings | ECHL | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 420 | 19 | 0 | 2.71 | .923 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2019–20 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1194 | 59 | 1 | 2.96 | .904 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2019–20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 285 | 14 | 0 | 2.95 | .898 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2020–21 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 481 | 18 | 0 | 2.25 | .929 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2020–21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 124 | 7 | 0 | 3.40 | .901 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 409 | 21 | 0 | 3.09 | .899 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
International
Source:[1]
Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Latvia | WJC18-IA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 203 | 8 | 0 | 2.37 | .899 | |
2015 | Latvia | WJC-IA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 241 | 7 | 0 | 1.75 | .928 | |
2016 | Latvia | WJC-IA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 245 | 7 | 0 | 1.71 | .941 | |
2021 | Latvia | WC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 248 | 9 | 1 | 2.18 | .922 | |
Junior totals | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 689 | 22 | 0 | 1.92 | .925 | |||
Senior totals | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 248 | 9 | 1 | 2.18 | .922 |
Awards and honours
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
MNJHL | ||
Second All-Star Team | 2015 | |
USHL | ||
First All-Star Team | 2016–17 | |
Goaltender of the Year | 2016–17[12] | |
Player of the Year | 2016–17[12] | |
International | ||
WJC-D1 Best Goaltender | 2015, 2016 | |
WJC-D1 Best GAA (1.71) | 2016 | |
WJC-D1 Best SVS% (.932) | 2016 |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Matiss Kivlenieks". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Forest Lake Lakers 2014-15". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Jackets sign Matiss Kivlenieks to three-year entry level contract". NHL.com.
- ^ "Blue Jackets assign goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to Monsters | Cleveland Monsters". Cleveland Monsters. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Rookie goaltender Kivlenieks gives Blue Jackets 2-1 win over Rangers in debut". Portland Press Herald. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ Podnieks, Andrew (5 July 2021). "Matiss Kivlenieks, 1996-2021". IIHF.com. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Blue Jackets G Kivlenieks dead at 24". TSN. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b c Kaplan, Emily. "Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, dies in 'tragic accident'". ESPN. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks dies after accidental fall". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Columbus goalie, 24, dies from fall after fireworks mishap". CBS3Duluth. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ @CBCAlerts (July 5, 2021). "Correction: Medical examiner says Matiss Kivlenieks, goalie for NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, died yesterday of chest trauma caused by a strike from a fireworks mortar blast. An earlier tweet misstated the cause of death and has been deleted" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Kivlenieks named USHL player and goaltender of the year". Sioux City Journal. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
See also
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database