Mārtiņš Karsums

Mārtiņš Karsums (born 26 February 1986) is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš of the Slovak Extraliga.

Karsums was selected in the second round, 64th overall, in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins. He has played in the National Hockey League for the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Playing career

Early career Karsums first appeared on scouts' radar with his appearances at the Division I U18 and 2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship tournaments in 2003, representing Latvia. Karsums scored twice in the U18 tournament and showed another side of his game in the 2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship event when he tallied 35 PIM in just five games.

North America

Junior league Unhappy with his limited play at the Latvian club team Vilki Rīga, Karsums elected to transfer to the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He enjoyed a very good rookie season for the Moncton Wildcats, finishing in the top five of both team and league rookie, scoring 53 points (30 goals, 23 assists), and accumulating 76 PIM. Karsums also dominated the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Division I tournament, scoring seven goals and adding six assists for 13 points in five games.

Karsums had problems with injury that limited his play with Moncton for the 2004-05 season, but he still managed to be productive. In 30 games, he scored 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) and had 31 penalty minutes.

During the 2005–06 season, which was his most successful season so far, Karsums scored 65 points (34 goals, 31 assists) and helped his Moncton Wildcats to win the Jean Rougeau Trophy and the President's Cup. He also received the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff most valuable player, scoring 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists) in 22 games and was the first European-born player to do so. Eight of his 16 post-season goals have proven game-winning goals, including three of the four game-winners in the championships series vs the Quebec Remparts.

He played in the 2006 Memorial Cup, scored one goal, and had three assists in five games.

Professional leagues On May 22, 2006, Karsums signed a three-year contract with Boston Bruins. He spent the majority of that time playing for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL), the top farm team of the Bruins. In his most successful 2007/08 season with Providence, Karsums scored 20 goals and had 63 points in 79 games.

On December 13, 2008, Karsums debuted in NHL with the Boston Bruins against Atlanta Thrashers in a 4–2 win. On March 4, 2009, on the NHL Trade Deadline, he was traded by the Bruins, along with Matt Lashoff, to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Mark Recchi. While playing for the Lightning, Karsums scored his first career NHL goal on April 3, 2009, against the New Jersey Devils' Martin Brodeur.

Return to Europe On January 14, 2010, after playing the first half of the season with affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, Karsums was reassigned by the Lightning to HC MVD of the Kontinental Hockey League. However, he didn't join the team and was instead loaned to Dinamo Riga.

After struggling in the first season, he became a major contributor and one of the scoring and on-ice leaders in his next three seasons with Dinamo Riga. He played at least 50 games in all three seasons finishing above 30 points. Mid-through 2012–13 season Karsums was named as captain of the team.

After four seasons with Dinamo Rīga, Karsums signed a contract with HC Dynamo Moscow.

Following the 2017–18 season, his fifth with Dynamo, Karsums left the club as a free agent and agreed to a one-year deal to continue in the KHL with HC Spartak Moscow on May 4, 2018.

Karsums played 11 seasons in the KHL before moving to Germany and agreeing to a one-year contract with Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL for the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season on 22 December 2020.

After a lone season with Krefeld, Karsums opted to return for a second stint with Dinamo Riga of the KHL on 8 May 2021.

International play Karsums debuted internationally at the junior level with Latvia at the 2001 IIHF World U18 Championships. At the Division I 2004 World Junior Championships, Karsums helped Latvia claim the bronze medal, leading the tournament in scoring with 13 points in 7 games. He later claimed the Gold medal and promotion to the top tier at the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. (D1-B)

On May 11, 2008, Karsums debuted for Latvia against Norway in a 4–1 win, earning his first career international point, an assist. Since then Karsums has played in three World Championships. He missed 2011, 2012 and 2013 championships due to injuries. Karsums scored crucial game tying goal against France in 2014 Winter Olympics qualifications 3:2 OT loss, that allowed Latvian national team to qualify for 5th Olympic games, and 4th in a row.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 LB Prizma Rīga LAT 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2000–01 HK Lido Nafta Rīga LAT 18 8 6 14 — — — — — — 2001–02 LB Prizma Rīga EEHL B 16 7 8 15 4 — — — — — 2001–02 LB Prizma Rīga LAT 6 4 1 5 4 — — — — — 2001–02 New York Apple Core EJHL 20 12 7 19 — — — — — — 2002–03 HK Rīga 2000 EEHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2002–03 HK Prizma Rīga EEHL B 10 5 8 13 28 — — — — — 2002–03 Vilki OP LAT 11 5 3 8 12 5 2 1 3 2 2003–04 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 60 30 23 53 76 20 8 9 17 14 2004–05 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 30 14 12 26 31 2 0 0 0 0 2005–06 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 49 34 31 65 89 22 16 11 27 22 2006–07 Providence Bruins AHL 54 13 22 35 41 12 3 1 4 2 2007–08 Providence Bruins AHL 79 20 43 63 57 10 7 3 10 6 2008–09 Providence Bruins AHL 43 17 24 41 20 — — — — — 2008–09 Boston Bruins NHL 6 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 18 1 4 5 6 — — — — — 2009–10 Norfolk Admirals AHL 36 4 12 16 6 — — — — — 2009–10 Dinamo Rīga KHL 12 4 4 8 16 9 2 1 3 4 2010–11 Dinamo Rīga KHL 52 17 15 32 46 11 1 2 3 8 2011–12 Dinamo Rīga KHL 54 21 12 33 46 7 1 4 5 0 2012–13 Dinamo Rīga KHL 51 16 19 35 63 — — — — — 2013–14 Dynamo Moscow KHL 42 17 8 25 83 5 0 0 0 0 2014–15 Dynamo Moscow KHL 56 11 14 25 18 11 3 2 5 4 2015–16 Dynamo Moscow KHL 34 10 8 18 14 — — — — — 2016–17 Dynamo Moscow KHL 52 16 18 34 57 10 0 1 1 10 2017–18 Dynamo Moscow KHL 34 3 12 15 57 — — — — — 2018–19 Spartak Moscow KHL 56 9 15 24 46 6 2 2 4 2 2019–20 Spartak Moscow KHL 52 11 11 22 65 6 0 1 1 4 2020–21 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 25 3 7 10 12 — — — — — 2021–22 Dinamo Rīga KHL 28 4 3 7 4 — — — — — NHL totals 24 1 5 6 6 — — — — — KHL totals 523 139 139 278 515 65 9 13 22 32

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2001 Latvia WJC18 D1 5 0 0 0 25 2002 Latvia WJC18 D1 5 1 0 1 14 2003 Latvia WJC D1 5 0 1 1 35 2003 Latvia WJC18 D1 4 2 0 2 14 2004 Latvia WJC D1 5 7 6 13 22 2005 Latvia WJC D1 5 7 3 10 20 2006 Latvia WJC 6 3 3 6 6 2008 Latvia WC 2 1 2 3 2 2009 Latvia OGQ 3 4 2 6 0 2009 Latvia WC 6 1 3 4 27 2010 Latvia OG 4 0 2 2 2 2010 Latvia WC 6 3 1 4 2 2013 Latvia OGQ 3 1 1 2 0 2014 Latvia OG 5 0 1 1 2 2016 Latvia OGQ 3 2 1 3 0 2018 Latvia WC 3 0 2 2 0 2021 Latvia WC 7 2 0 2 0 Junior totals 35 20 13 33 136 Senior totals 42 14 15 29 35

Awards and honours Award Year QMJHL All-Rookie Team 2004 President's Cup 2006 Guy Lafleur Trophy 2006 AHL All-Star Game 2009