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Sergei Zholtok

Sergei Zholtok
Born (1972-12-02)December 2, 1972
Riga, Soviet Union
Died November 3, 2004(2004-11-03) (aged 31)
Minsk, Belarus
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Boston Bruins
Ottawa Senators
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
National team  Latvia 
 CIS &
 Soviet Union
NHL Draft 55th overall, 1992
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1992–2004
Sergejs Žoltoks
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Soviet Union
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1991 Canada
Representing  CIS
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Germany

Sergei Zholtok (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey center who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.

Žoltoks was drafted by the Boston Bruins 55th overall in 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to being drafted, he won a gold medal with USSR national team in IIHF Junior World Championships in 1992. After playing 25 games with the Boston Bruins in the 1992–93 NHL season and the 1993–94 NHL season, Žoltoks spent the next years playing in minor leagues.

Žoltoks returned to the NHL in the 1996–97 NHL season with the Ottawa Senators. In the following years, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Žoltoks returned to Latvia and played for the Riga 2000 team in the Latvian national hockey championship and the Open Belarus hockey championship. On November 3, 2004, his cardiac arrhythmia resurfaced during the game between HK Riga 2000 (Latvia) and HC Dinamo Minsk (Belarus). Žoltoks left the game with 5 minutes remaining, collapsing and dying after returning to the dressing room in the arms of teammate Darby Hendrickson. An autopsy determined heart failure as the cause of death. He was survived by his wife, Anna, and two sons. This was not the first occurrence; in January 2003 he had to leave a game due to this arrhythmia, and had been observed in a hospital overnight. He was allowed to return to play after missing seven games.


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