Darren Dietz

Darren Dietz (Kazakh: Даррен Диц; born July 17, 1993) is a Canadian-born Kazakhstani professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 138th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Darren Dietz
Dietz with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2014
Born	(1993-07-17) July 17, 1993 (age 32) Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
KHL team Former teams	Dinamo Minsk Montreal Canadiens Barys Astana CSKA Moscow Avangard Omsk Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
National team	Kazakhstan
NHL draft	138th overall, 2011 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	2013–present

Playing career

Dietz played in the WHL since the 2009–10 season with the Saskatoon Blades. He was named to the 2013 WHL East First All-Star Team.^[1]

On September 16, 2013, after attending the Montreal Canadiens' pre-season training camp, Dietz was assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.^[2]

Montreal did not offer Dietz a contract after the 2015-16 season, making him a free agent. On July 1, 2016, Dietz agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals.^[3] In the 2016–17 season, Dietz was assigned to the Hershey Bears, collecting 6 goals and 12 points in 39 contests. On March 8, 2017, Dietz was loaned by the Capitals to fellow AHL outfit, the Texas Stars, in exchange for Mattias Bäckman.^[4] He contributed with 2 assists in 13 games with the Stars to end the season. On June 26, 2017, the Capitals announced that Dietz would not be offered a new contract as a restricted free agent.^[5]

With no NHL prospects, Dietz signed a one-year deal with Kazakh club, Barys Astana of the KHL on July 1, 2017.^[6]

During the 2021–22 season, in his fifth season captaining Barys Nur-Sultan,^[7] Dietz's tenure in Kazakhstan ended after posting 21 points through 34 regular season games, when he was traded to HC CSKA Moscow in exchange for financial compensation on December 17, 2021.^[8]

Dietz played for CSKA for three seasons before departing via a trade in exchange for financial compensation with Avangard Omsk on 2 May 2024. Then he signed a two-year contract extension starting in the 2024–25 season.^[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008–09	Medicine Hat Tigers	AMHL		34	0	4	4	62		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Lethbridge Hurricanes	AMHL		33	9	15	24	105		5	4	3	7	14
2009–10	Saskatoon Blades	WHL		8	1	1	2	4		3	0	0	0	2
2010–11	Saskatoon Blades	WHL		68	8	19	27	66		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Saskatoon Blades	WHL		72	15	29	44	118		3	0	1	1	5
2012–13	Saskatoon Blades	WHL		72	24	34	58	100		4	1	1	2	2
2013–14	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		34	0	5	5	49		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		71	4	13	17	64		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	St. John's IceCaps	AHL		61	4	12	16	61		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		13	1	4	5	13		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Hershey Bears	AHL		39	6	6	12	53		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Texas Stars	AHL		13	0	2	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Barys Astana	KHL		44	7	12	19	51		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Barys Astana	KHL		62	15	38	53	59		11	3	1	4	45
2019–20	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL		54	11	21	32	65		5	3	0	3	2
2020–21	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL		53	17	20	37	69		6	2	3	5	8
2021–22	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL		34	9	12	21	31		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	CSKA Moscow	KHL		8	1	1	2	2		20	1	3	4	8
2022–23	CSKA Moscow	KHL		44	5	10	15	33		27	4	7	11	18
2023–24	CSKA Moscow	KHL		55	8	14	22	35		5	1	0	1	5
2024–25	Avangard Omsk	KHL		18	1	3	4	14		—	—	—	—	—
2024–25	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg	KHL		31	0	8	8	18		7	0	2	2	2
NHL totals				13	1	4	5	13		—	—	—	—	—
KHL totals				403	74	139	213	377		81	14	16	30	88

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2019	Kazakhstan	WC-D1	17th		5	1	4	5	2
2020	Kazakhstan	OGQ	DNQ		3	2	3	5	0
2021	Kazakhstan	WC	10th		7	0	2	2	4
2022	Kazakhstan	WC	14th		3	0	2	2	0
Senior totals					18	3	11	14	6

Awards and honours

Award	Year
WHL
First All-Star Team	2013	[10]
KHL
All-Star Game	2019, 2020
First All-Star Team	2019
Best Defenseman	2019
Gagarin Cup (CSKA Moscow)	2022, 2023	[11][12]