Darius Kasparaitis

Darius Kasparaitis left Lithuania for Russia at age 14 to play ice hockey at a higher level and in 1992, after the fall of Soviet Union, decided to obtain Russian citizenship instead of Lithuanian. Kasparaitis began his hockey career in 1988 with Dynamo Moskva, playing there until 1992. With Dynamo Moskva Kasparaitis won Soviet titles in 1990 and 1991 and a CIS title in 1992. In 1992 Kasparaitis was drafted by the [New York Islanders] as the fifth overall pick and played with them until 1997. From 1997-2002 Kasparaitis played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, then had a short spell with the [Colorado Avalanche] before playing with the New York Rangers in 2002-07. In 2007 Kasparaitis returned to play with [SKA St. Petersburg]. Internationally besides his three Olympic medals, Kasparaitis also won bronze at the 1996 World Cup and played for Russia at the 1992 World Championships and 2004 World Cup. He was also the alternate captain of the Russian team at the 2006 Winter Olympics.