Zemgus Girgensons
| Zemgus Girgensons | |||
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| Born |
5 January 1994 Riga, Latvia |
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| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team | Buffalo Sabres | ||
| National team |
 Latvia
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| NHL Draft | 14th overall, 2012 Buffalo Sabres |
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| Playing career | 2012–present | ||
Zemgus Girgensons (born 5 January 1994) is a Latvian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. With this selection, Girgensons became the highest-drafted Latvian in NHL history, 16 spots higher than previous highest selection, Sandis Ozoliņš, in 1991. In the previous year, Girgensons was selected in the second round, 28th overall, in the 2011 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Junior Draft by CSKA Moscow.
Girgensons began playing hockey in EVHS hockey school and was coached by former Dinamo Rīga player Edmunds Vasiļjevs. He played in Latvian minor and youth leagues.
In 2009, Girgensons moved to North America and played in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) for the Green Mountain Glades. The next season, he moved to the United States Hockey League (USHL) and played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints. In 2011, he became a USHL champion with the Fighting Saints, and he also participated in the USHL All-Star Game. In the 2011–12 season, his last as a junior, Girgensons was named as the captain of the Fighting Saints.
Girgensons entered his draft eligibility year as a projected first-round draft pick. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 14th overall. The Sabres had already used their own first-round pick, selecting Mikhail Grigorenko 12th overall, but traded a first-round (21st overall) pick (from Nashville), which Calgary used to select Mark Jankowski, and a second-round (42nd overall) pick, to move up seven spots to draft Girgensons. Before attending the Sabres' prospects' summer camp, Girgensons had committed to going to the University of Vermont Catamounts of the NCAA; however, he signed a professional contract with the Sabres on 13 July 2012, which forfeited his NCAA eligibility.
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