Nigel Alexander Dawes (born February 9, 1985) is a CanadianKazakhstani former professional ice-hockey winger. He played 212 games in five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers, and Montreal Canadiens.
After leaving the NHL, Dawes became known as a goalscorer in Europe particularly in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Barys Astana, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and Ak Bars Kazan scoring 267 goals and 505 points in 543 games in the KHL - making him fifth all-time in KHL point scoring and second in goals.
Dawes played for the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League, with Kootenay he was part of the team that won the 2002 Memorial Cup. He was also part of Team Canada's IIHF World Junior Championship teams of 2004 and 2005, winning Gold at the latter. He spent his senior hockey career on the Kazakhstani national team, after earning naturalization status in the country.
Playing career Dawes played junior ice hockey for the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League. In his first year, the Ice won the 2002 Memorial Cup after winning the President's Cup as champions of the WHL. 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), and the Ice's most valuable player.
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. 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. 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. 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.
Dawes recorded his first NHL assist in the 2007–08 season. 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.
On July 16, 2008, Dawes re-signed with the Rangers to a one-year, $587,500 contract. On March 4, 2009, Dawes was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes along with Dmitri Kalinin and Petr Průcha for Derek Morris. On July 16, 2009, Dawes was claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames.
On September 8, 2010, Dawes signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $600,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the American Hockey League (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 Kazakhstan-based Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He continued the relationship through the 2017–18 season.
On July 14, 2020, Dawes as a free agent and the fifth leading scorer in KHL history extended his tenure in Russia, signing a one-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan.
On June 11, 2021, Dawes signed a two-year contract with Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
At the conclusion of his contract with Adler Mannheim and hampered by injury, Dawes announced his retirement following 17 professional seasons.
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. 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. All three players received Kazakhstani citizenship via naturalization, making them eligible.
Personal life Dawes was born in Winnipeg to a Canadian mother and Jamaican father.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01Winnipeg Warriors AAAMMHL36554196741314112510 2000–01Winnipeg SaintsMJHL41230————— 2001–02Kootenay IceWHL54151934142296158 2002–03Kootenay IceWHL72474592541148126 2003–04Kootenay IceWHL5647237031412310 2003–04Hartford Wolf PackAHL40000————— 2004–05Kootenay IceWHL635026763012510155 2005–06Hartford Wolf PackAHL77353267211366129 2006–07New York RangersNHL8101010000 2006–07Hartford Wolf PackAHL6527336029756119 2007–08Hartford Wolf PackAHL201420342————— 2007–08New York RangersNHL6114152910102240 2008–09New York RangersNHL521091915————— 2008–09Phoenix CoyotesNHL120220————— 2009–10Calgary FlamesNHL6614183218————— 2010–11Atlanta ThrashersNHL90110————— 2010–11Chicago WolvesAHL4727174417————— 2010–11Hamilton BulldogsAHL19141428720148228 2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL40000————— 2011–12Barys AstanaKHL521617333471232 2012–13Barys AstanaKHL512014342877294 2013–14Barys AstanaKHL542623491872244 2014–15Barys AstanaKHL6032245648743710 2015–16Barys AstanaKHL5531225316—————2016–17Barys AstanaKHL59362763311073104 2017–18Barys AstanaKHL4635215626————— 2018–19Avtomobilist YekaterinburgKHL602841691282350 2019–20Avtomobilist YekaterinburgKHL592030501350112 2020–21Ak Bars KazanKHL4723204310143360 2021–22Adler MannheimDEL541923421064268 2022–23Adler MannheimDEL3613112420—————NHL totals21239458443112240KHL totals5432672385052366526194526
International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM2002 Canada Western U17 5th 5 2 2 4 4 2002 Canada U18 5 5 6 11 2 2004 Canada WJC 6 6 5 11 10 2005 Canada WJC 6 2 4 6 6 2016 Kazakhstan OGQ NQ 2 1 1 2 0 2016 Kazakhstan WC 16th 7 4 4 8 4 2017 Kazakhstan WC D1 19th 55490 2020 Kazakhstan OGQ NQ 2 0 2 2 0Junior totals 22 15 16 32 22Senior totals 16 10 11 21 4
Awards and honours Award Year WHL West First All-Star Team 2004, 2005 West Second All-Star Team 2003 Brad Hornung Trophy 2004 AHL All-Star Game 2008 Second All-Star Team 2011 KHL All-Star Game 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Most goals (35) 2018
See also List of black ice hockey players
References
External links