Ronalds Ķēniņš

Ronalds Ķēniņš (born February 28, 1991) is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Kyiv Capitals of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. He played 38 games for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 2015 and 2016.

Playing career Ķēniņš played junior ice hockey in Latvia and Switzerland. At 17 years of age, he started his professional career with GCK Lions of the National League B (NLB), Switzerland's second-tier league, in 2008–09. After three seasons with the Lions organization, Ķēniņš joined ZSC Lions of the top-tier National League A (NLA). Following the 2012–13 season, he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks on July 30, 2013. He remained in Switzerland for the 2013–14 season and recorded an NLA career-high eight goals and 25 points in 39 games.

Ķēniņš moved to North America for the 2014–15 season and was assigned to the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets. After being called up midway through the season, Ķēniņš made his NHL debut on January 30, 2015, against the Buffalo Sabres (a team that featured fellow Latvian Zemgus Girgensons and the former Latvian national team's head coach, Ted Nolan). The following game, Ķēniņš scored his first career NHL goal against Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild on February 1. On April 17, Ķēniņš scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal on a one-timer assisted by linemate and fellow rookie Bo Horvat.

On August 17, 2016, Ķēniņš agreed as a free agent to a two-year contract with his former team, the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). Ķēniņš playrd with a Swiss player-licence and was not considered an import player in the NL.

On April 28, 2018, Ķēniņš signed a three-year contract with fellow NL club, Lausanne HC. On May 8, 2021, he signed a five-year contract extension. On December 29, 2022, Ķēniņš was loaned to HC Sierre of the Swiss League (SL).

On November 13, 2024, Ķēniņš and Lausanne HC mutually agreed to terminate the contract. He had not played any games for the team during the 2023–24 season but had played seven games on loan to HC Sierre. The next day, Ķēniņš signed a try-out contract with SC Bern that was valid until December 22, with an option to extend it until the end of the season.

International play

At the junior level, Ķēniņš played for Latvia in two World U18 Championships (second tier Division I play) and two World Junior Championships (one year in Division I and another in the top tier). He made his debut with Latvia senior team at the 2011 World Championship and has gone on to play in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In February 2014, he played for Latvia at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

He represented Latvia at the 2023 World Championship where he recorded one assist and won a bronze medal, Latvia's first-ever IIHF World Championship medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2006–07 HK Liepājas Metalurgs LAT U18 — 1 3 4 12 — — — — — 2007–08 Pikes Oberthurgau SUI U17 30 14 21 35 60 4 0 3 3 18 2008–09 GCK Lions II SUI.2 U20 6 6 6 12 6 — — — — — 2008–09 GCK Lions SUI.2 42 2 8 10 24 — — — — — 2009–10 GCK Lions SUI U20 30 13 18 31 38 9 0 4 4 10 2009–10 GCK Lions SUI.2 4 1 3 4 4 — — — — — 2010–11 GCK Lions SUI U20 18 7 14 21 45 11 7 13 20 24 2010–11 GCK Lions SUI.2 11 1 2 3 8 — — — — — 2011–12 ZSC Lions NLA 47 6 12 18 48 15 0 4 4 6 2012–13 ZSC Lions NLA 45 3 14 17 12 12 4 4 8 10 2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 39 8 17 25 40 18 4 0 4 6 2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 36 5 7 12 23 — — — — — 2014–15 Vancouver Canucks NHL 30 4 8 12 8 5 1 1 2 4 2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 41 5 18 23 44 4 0 2 2 2 2015–16 Vancouver Canucks NHL 8 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 2016–17 ZSC Lions NLA 45 6 9 15 65 6 0 1 1 2 2017–18 ZSC Lions NL 40 1 9 10 57 18 5 5 10 14 2018–19 Lausanne HC NL 49 10 19 29 47 12 3 3 6 16 2019–20 Lausanne HC NL 44 5 15 20 34 — — — — — 2020–21 Lausanne HC NL 51 9 26 35 49 6 1 2 3 6 2021–22 Lausanne HC NL 43 7 13 20 24 8 1 2 3 10 2022–23 Lausanne HC NL 46 3 2 5 32 — — — — — 2022–23 HC Sierre SL 2 0 2 2 2 — — — — — NL totals 449 58 136 194 408 95 18 21 39 70 NHL totals 38 4 8 12 14 5 1 1 2 4

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Latvia U18 D1 13th 5 0 1 1 2 2009 Latvia U18 D1 12th 5 3 0 3 4 2010 Latvia WJC 9th 6 2 2 4 6 2011 Latvia WJC D1 11th 5 0 3 3 4 2011 Latvia WC 13th 6 0 0 0 0 2012 Latvia WC 10th 5 1 2 3 6 2013 Latvia OGQ Q 3 1 1 2 2 2013 Latvia WC 11th 7 0 1 1 6 2014 Latvia OG 8th 5 0 0 0 2 2014 Latvia WC 11th 7 0 4 4 4 2016 Latvia WC 13th 6 1 0 1 27 2016 Latvia OGQ DNQ 3 1 2 3 4 2017 Latvia WC 10th 7 0 0 0 2 2018 Latvia WC 8th 8 2 1 3 4 2019 Latvia WC 10th 7 2 2 4 6 2021 Latvia WC 11th 7 1 3 4 12 2021 Latvia OGQ Q 3 2 4 6 0 2022 Latvia OG 11th 4 1 0 1 0 2022 Latvia WC 10th 7 0 2 2 2 2023 Latvia WC 7 0 1 1 0 Junior totals 21 5 6 11 16 Senior totals 92 12 23 35 77