Nigel Dawes

Nigel Alexander Dawes (born February 9, 1985) is a Kazakhstani-Canadian professional ice hockey winger for Barys Astana of the KHL. Before joining Barys, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers.

Playing career

Dawes played junior ice hockey for the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League. In his first year, the Ice won the Memorial Cup after winning the President's Cup as champions of the WHL.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Dawes improved his play in his next two seasons in the WHL, and, for the 2003–04 season, he was named a first team All-Star in the Western Conference, the winner of the Brad Hornung Trophy (most sportsmanlike),<ref name="signing">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Ice's most valuable player.

File:Dawes.jpg

Dawes with the Rangers

Dawes was drafted in the fifth round, 149th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, after two seasons in the WHL. After three seasons of junior hockey and four games in the American Hockey League for the Hartford Wolf Pack at the end of the 2003–04 season, the Rangers signed Dawes to his first professional contract on September 1, 2004, when he was 19 years old.<ref name="signing"/> Dawes went on to play another season with the Ice, recognized for his talent as a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year), before breaking into the professional game in the AHL. Dawes finished his Kootenay Ice career as the franchise leader in goals, with 159 scored in 245 games.

Dawes scored his first NHL goal against Andrew Raycroft on October 21, 2006, in the Rangers 5–4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After playing in seven games then being a healthy scratch for seven of the next eight, Dawes was sent down to play with the Wolf Pack for the rest of the 2006–07 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He returned to play in the Rangers' final game of the playoffs on May 6, 2007. Game six against the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Semifinals was Dawes's first NHL playoff game. While Dawes was trying to block a shot, the first Sabres goal deflected off of his body to go into the net past goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers lost the game 5–4 to lose the series 4–2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Over a year after his first goal, Dawes recorded his first NHL assist on a goal by Brandon Dubinsky against Marc-André Fleury on November 8, 2007. That goal was also Dubinsky's first NHL goal, scored in the Rangers 4–2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Dawes seemed to have a decided advantage against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur during the 2007–08 season, scoring four of his 14 goals against Brodeur and getting into Brodeur's head by scoring a winning shootout goal on March 19, 2008,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which Brodeur later called lucky. However, Dawes had become a good shootout option for the Rangers, scoring four times on seven attempts at that point. During regular play, played as high as the second line at points during the 2007–08 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On July 16, 2008, Dawes re-signed with the Rangers to a one-year, $587,500 contract.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On March 4, 2009, Dawes was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes along with Dmitri Kalinin and Petr Průcha for Derek Morris.<ref name="dawestophoenix">Template:Cite news</ref> On July 16, 2009, Dawes was claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames.<ref name="dawestocalgary">Template:Cite news</ref>

On September 8, 2010, Dawes signed a 1 year two-way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $600,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL. He was traded on February 24, 2011, to the Montreal Canadiens, along with Brent Sopel for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

On May 31, 2011, Dawes left the NHL and signed a one-year contract with Kazakh based KHL team, Barys Astana.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has continued the relationship into the 2016-17 season.

International play

Dawes played for Canada in the 2004 and 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, winning silver and gold medals, respectively. In 2004, Dawes led all players with six goals to go along with five assists in six games, tying for first with 11 points.<ref name="signing"/> Two goals and one assist came in the gold medal game against the United States, after which Dawes was named as Canada's player of the game. He registered two goals and four assists in six games in 2005.

On March 24, 2016, the IIHF announced it had approved a request to allow Dawes, Brandon Bochenski, and Dustin Boyd to play for Kazakhstan at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All three players received Kazakhstani citizenship via naturalization, making them eligible.<ref name="IIHF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="post">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal

His mother is Canadian and his father is Jamaican.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He hails from the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Winnipeg Warriors	MMMHL		36	55	41	96	74		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Kootenay Ice	WHL		54	15	19	34	14		22	9	6	15	8
2002–03	Kootenay Ice	WHL		72	47	45	92	54		11	4	8	12	6
2003–04	Kootenay Ice	WHL		56	47	23	70	31		4	1	2	3	10
2003–04	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Kootenay Ice	WHL		63	50	26	76	30		12	5	10	15	5
2005–06	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		77	35	32	67	21		13	6	6	12	9
2006–07	New York Rangers	NHL		8	1	0	1	0		1	0	0	0	0
2006–07	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		65	27	33	60	29		7	5	6	11	9
2007–08	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		20	14	20	34	2		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	New York Rangers	NHL		61	14	15	29	10		10	2	2	4	0
2008–09	New York Rangers	NHL		52	10	9	19	15		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		12	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Calgary Flames	NHL		66	14	18	32	18		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		9	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Chicago Wolves	AHL		47	27	17	44	17		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		19	14	14	28	7		20	14	8	22	8
2010–11	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Barys Astana	KHL		52	16	17	33	34		7	1	2	3	2
2012–13	Barys Astana	KHL		51	20	14	34	28		7	7	2	9	4
2013–14	Barys Astana	KHL		54	26	23	49	18		7	2	2	4	4
2014–15	Barys Astana	KHL		60	32	24	56	48		7	4	3	7	10
2015–16	Barys Astana	KHL		55	31	22	53	16		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				212	39	45	84	43		11	2	2	4	0
KHL totals				272	125	100	225	144		28	14	9	23	20

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002	Canada Western	U17	5th		5	2	2	4	4
2004	Canada	WJC	Template:Sica		6	6	5	11	10
2005	Canada	WJC	Template:Goca		6	2	4	6	6
2016	Kazakhstan	WC	16th		7	4	4	8	4
2016	Kazakhstan	OGQ	NQ		2	1	1	2	0
Junior totals					17	10	11	21	20
Senior totals					9	5	5	10	4

Awards and honours

Award	Year
WHL
West First All-Star Team	2004, 2005
Brad Hornung Trophy	2004
AHL
All-Star Game	2008
Second All-Star Team	2011	<ref>Template:Citeweb</ref>
KHL
All-Star Game	2015, 2016

See also

• List of black ice hockey players

External links

• Template:Hockeydb
• Template:Nhlprofile
• Template:Eliteprospects