Kaspars Astašenko

Kaspars Astašenko (17 February 1975^[1] – 20 November 2012) was a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Astašenko was born in Riga, Latvia. Astašenko was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 127th overall. Astašenko played parts of two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Lightning.

Kaspars Astašenko
Born	(1975-02-17)17 February 1975 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	20 November 2012(2012-11-20) (aged 37) Riga, Latvia
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	HK Pārdaugava Rīga HC CSKA Moscow Tampa Bay Lightning Ilves HPK HC Slovan Bratislava Ritten Sport Beibarys Atyrau Belfast Giants
National team	Latvia
NHL draft	127th overall, 1999 Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career	1993–2012

Playing career

Junior

Astašenko began his career in his native Riga with HK Pārdaugava Rīga, competing in both the Latvian top league and later to Russian Superleague before signing with Russian club, HC CSKA Moscow in 1995.

North America

In 1998, Astašenko signed with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the International Hockey League. After a stint with the Cyclones, Astašenko was surprisingly drafted by Tampa Bay and went on to play 23 regular games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Lightning as well as playing for the IHL's Detroit Vipers and Long Beach Ice Dogs. He later played in the American Hockey League for the Springfield Falcons and the Lowell Lock Monsters.

Europe

He would return to Europe in 2003, with stops at Finland's SM-liiga with Ilves and HPK, back in Russia with Khimik Voskresensk, the Slovak Extraliga with HC Slovan Bratislava, Ritten Sport of Italy's Serie A and the United Kingdom's Elite Ice Hockey League for the Belfast Giants as well as brief spells in his native Latvia and the lower leagues in Finland.^[2]

International play

Astašenko played for the Latvian national team in the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001 and 2006, as well as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.^[2]

Personal life

In 2003, Astašenko was arrested for possession of heroin in the United States, effectively ending his North American career. After suffering from various addictions, Astašenko died on 20 November 2012.^[3][4][5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991–92	HK Cesis Vendenieki	LAT		12	7	5	12	14		–	–	–	–	–
1991–92	RASMS Rīga	CIS-3		5	1	0	1	0		–	–	–	–	–
1992–93	Pārdaugava Rīga	LAT		20	15	15	30	24		–	–	–	–	–
1993–94	Pārdaugava Rīga	RUS		4	0	0	0	10		–	–	–	–	–
1993–94	Hokeja Centrs Rīga	LAT		21	7	7	14	34		3	0	1	1	8
1994–95	Pārdaugava Rīga	RUS		25	0	0	0	24		–	–	–	–	–
1994–95	Pārdaugava–2 Rīga	LAT		1	1	0	1	0		–	–	–	–	–
1995–96	CSKA Moscow	RUS		26	0	1	1	10		–	–	–	–	–
1995–96	CSKA–2 Moscow	RUS-2		16	6	1	7	10		–	–	–	–	–
1996–97	CSKA Moscow	RSL		41	0	0	0	48		2	0	1	1	4
1997–98	CSKA Moscow	RSL		25	1	3	4	6		–	–	–	–	–
1998–99	Cincinnati Cyclones	IHL		74	3	11	14	166		3	0	2	2	6
1998–99	Dayton Bombers	ECHL		2	0	1	1	4		–	–	–	–	–
1999–00	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		8	0	1	1	4		–	–	–	–	–
1999–00	Detroit Vipers	IHL		51	1	10	11	86		–	–	–	–	–
1999–00	Long Beach Ice Dogs	IHL		14	0	3	3	10		–	–	–	–	–
2000–01	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		15	1	1	2	4		–	–	–	–	–
2000–01	Detroit Vipers	IHL		51	6	10	16	58		–	–	–	–	–
2001–02	Springfield Falcons	AHL		11	0	2	2	15		–	–	–	–	–
2001–02	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		37	2	8	10	39		5	1	1	2	2
2002–03	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		47	6	11	17	60		–	–	–	–	–
2003–04	HK Rīga 2000	LAT		11	2	6	8	24		–	–	–	–	–
2003–04	Ilves	SM-l		23	2	2	4	60		5	0	1	1	8
2004–05	Esbjerg IK	DEN		24	3	10	13	71		–	–	–	–	–
2004–05	ASK/Ogre	LAT		–	–	–	–	–		3	0	3	3	6
2005–06	Khimik Voskresensk	RUS-2		2	0	1	1	6		–	–	–	–	–
2005–06	Khimik–2 Voskresensk	RUS-3		1	0	0	0	4		–	–	–	–	–
2005–06	HPK	SM-l		28	2	4	6	112		12	0	1	1	49
2006–07	HC Slovan Bratislava	SVK		11	0	1	1	59		–	–	–	–	–
2006–07	ASK/Ogre	LAT		17	3	12	15	46		–	–	–	–	–
2007–08	Ritten Sport	ITA		29	3	16	19	76		13	2	5	7	36
2008–09	Ritten Sport	ITA		41	10	34	44	128		–	–	–	–	–
2010–11	Beibarys Atyrau	KAZ		14	1	1	2	24		–	–	–	–	–
2010–11	Belfast Giants	EIHL		14	0	5	5	13		–	–	–	–	–
2011–12	HK SMScredit	LAT		2	1	0	1	2		–	–	–	–	–
2011–12	Muik Hockey	FIN-4		8	9	4	13	20		–	–	–	–	–
LAT totals				84	36	45	81	144		6	0	4	4	14
IHL totals				190	10	34	44	320		3	0	2	2	6
NHL totals				23	1	2	3	8		–	–	–	–	–

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Latvia	EJC C		4	1	0	1	8
1994	Latvia	WJC C		4	6	4	10	4
1995	Latvia	WJC C1		4	0	0	0	18
2001	Latvia	WC		6	1	2	3	6
2002	Latvia	OG		3	0	1	1	0
2006	Latvia	WC		4	0	0	0	8
Junior totals				12	7	4	11	30
Senior totals				13	1	3	4	14