Los Angeles King's Anze Kopitar and His Hockey Career

Anze Kopitar is a very young player in the NHL, but one with a very promising career. Anze Kopitar was born in Jesenice, Yugoslavia (which is now Slovenia) on August 24, 1987, making him only twenty-one years old. Anze Kopitar is 6 feet tall and 220 pounds and plays center. Kopitar is not the only hockey player in his family. His father, Matjaz Kopitar, also played hockey, although not professionally like his son. Matjaz Kopitar is now retired and was a coach for the HK Acroni Jesenice, a team in the Austrian Hockey League. Anze Kopitar's father coached the HK Acronic Jesenice all the way to the championships of the Austrian Hockey League, where they won and became the champions.

Anze Kopitar played for the Sodertalje SK, a team in the SEL (Swedish Elite League) in the 2004-2005 hockey season. The SEL is the best hockey league in Sweden and ranked as the fourth best hockey league in all of Europe. Anze Kopitar was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1995, 11th overall and was the Los Angeles King's first round pick. Although Kopitar was drafted in 2005, he remained with the Sodertalje SK for the 2005-2006 season, passing up an offer to play in the WHL (Western Hockey League) as well as an invitation to the Los Angeles King's rookie camp. Kopitar felt that he would have a better advantage if he remained in the SEL, and it has worked out for him so far. Anze Kopitar played with the Los Angeles Kings the following season, the 2006-2007 season. Anze Kopitar is actually the first hockey player from Slovenia to ever play in the NHL.

The Los Angeles Kings is the only team that Anze Kopitar has ever played for. For many young hockey players, the AHL (American Hockey League) or a league similar to it, is the first step to a pro career in the NHL, but Anze Kopitar spent one season with the Sodertalje SK after being drafted and went straight to the NHL after that season. It is safe to say that Anze Kopitar is a very skilled hockey player. In his first season with the Los Angeles Kings (2006-2007) he scored the third most points out of all the NHL rookies that year. Kopitar managed to finish third in points without playing all of the regular season games. Another big accomplishment in Anze Kopitar's short professional hockey career was being selected to play in the NHL All-Star game. Kopitar was picked to play in the 2007-2008 All-Star game to represent the Western Conference teams.

ref-www.nhl.com