Arturs Irbe

Artūrs Irbe (Born - February 2, 1967 in Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian Professional Hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League who has played for the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes.

Playing career

Artūrs Irbe was drafted in the 10th round, 196th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft His first professional hockey team was Dinamo Riga of the Soviet League (from 1987 to 1991). After playing in only 2 games during the 1986-1987 season Irbe got a chance to become Dinamo Riga's number one goaltender during the 1987-1988 season when their starting goaltender and Olympic champion, Vitaliy Samoylov went down with a long term injury. In his only full professional season, Irbe was outstanding in helping Dinamo Riga make it to the finals of the Soviet Elite League where they eventually lost to perennial Soviet champions CSKA Moscow. Irbe is currently playing Hockey in Germany with Red Bulls Salzburg.

During this period he also played for the Soviet Union in the World Championships in 1989 and 1990. The Soviet team won those two championships and Irbe was honoured as the best goalkeeper of the 1990 tournament. He refused to play for the Soviet Union in 1991 because Latvia had proclaimed independence from the Soviet Union in May 4, 1990 and the Soviet government attempted to use military force in January 1991 to stop Latvia's independence. After Latvia's independence was recognized during August.

In the 1988-89 season Irbe travelled to North America with his then club Dinamo Riga to play in a series of exhibition games against NHL teams. The next season (1989-90) he was temporarily added to the CSKA Moscow team during an exhibition tour of North America.

His NHL career began in 1991. His first NHL team was the San Jose Sharks, he played with them from 1990-91 to 1995-96. With Irbe between the pipes, the newly established Sharks made their first playoff appearance in the 1993-94 season and upset the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings. Irbe, affectionately known as Archie, was nicknamed "The Wall" and became a cult figure in San Jose, a status he enjoys there to this day.

Following an injury (his hand being mauled by his pet dog in the offseason) and a poor 1995-96 season, Irbe was released by the Sharks. For the next two years, he was a backup goaltender for the Dallas Stars and the Vancouver Canucks until he became the starter for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1998-99. The highest point of his career with the Hurricanes was 2001-02 when Irbe was instrumental in leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell to the Detroit Red Wings. In June 2004 he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

He is notable on the ice for his helmet and padding - he has worn them almost continuously since his NHL debut for the Sharks - which are creased and scuffed with puck marks, stains, and tears. He has earned the nickname "Michelin Man" as a result.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Irbe was Latvia's flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies.

Awards & achievements

1985- European Junior Championships, best goalie
1988- Soviet League, rookie of the year
1990- World Championships, best goalie
1994- Played in NHL All-Star Game
1999- Played in NHL All-Star Game
2002- Starting goalie for Latvia in Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
2006- Starting goalie for Latvia in Torino Winter Olympics
2006- Selected as flag bearer for Latvia in 2006 Winter Olympics.

Arturs Irbe is also a member of board of directors of the Kids First Fund, a non-profit organization based in the United States which raises money for projects assisting abused and abandoned children in Latvia (www.KidsFirstFund.org).

Records

Career statistics

International play

Played for Latvia in:

1991 World Ice Hockey Championships
2002 Winter Olympics (Did not advance from preliminaries)
2006 Winter Olympics (Did not advance from preliminaries)