NHL Goalie: Arturs Irbe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Latvia

Arturs Irbe was born in Latvia's capital city, Riga. At the time, Latvia was a part of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, players were allowed to leave the nation and join North American teams in the NHL. Among them was Arturs Irbe.

Answer: 1989

After being drafted, Irbe did not have any ice time until his big break in the 1991-1992 season, where he played 13 games for the San Jose Sharks. He posted a save percentage of .868% with a goals- against average of 4.46.

Answer: His dog attacked him

While spending the summer of 1994 in his home town of Riga, Arturs Irbe was doing sit-ups next to his dog who was sleeping at the time. Apparently, he nudged the animal, and woke it up. The dog went ballistic and attacked Irbe's hands. As a result, he suffered severe damage to the tendons and nerves in his hands.

The dog was later put to sleep. Because of the attack, Irbe displayed a horrible performance the following season and quickly began to make a name for himself as the worst stick handling goalie in the league.

Answer: Columbus Blue Jackets

Apart from the Stars, the Canucks, and the Hurricanes, Arturs Irbe had also played for the San Jose Sharks. At the end of the 2003-2004 season, Irbe was traded to the Blue Jackets, but he did not play a game with them. For the 2005-2006 season, Arturs was playing for the Red Bulls in Austria.

Answer: True

Although they were brand new at the start of his hockey career, Irbe's pads began to show some heavy wear over the years. He insisted on keeping his pads, so instead of letting his team's equipment managers dispose of his gear, he repaired them himself.

Answer: 2001-02

After defeating the New Jersey Devils in six games of the first round, Carolina advanced to the second round against the Montreal Canadiens. Carolina defeated the Canadiens in six games as well. Carolina then advanced to the eastern division final against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carolina defeated the Maple Leafs in game six, just like they had with the two previous teams.

They finally advanced to the Stanley Cup finals against Dominik Hasek and the Detroit Red Wings. Carolina won the first game, in overtime by a score of 3 to 2, because of a fantastic goal by Ron Francis. From there, the Red Wings took over and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in 5 games.

The goaltending of Arturs Irbe and his backup, Kevin Weekes led them to the Stanley Cup finals, but proved unfruitful against their powerful opponents, the Detroit Red wings.

Answer: 34

After the success of his previous season, Arturs Irbe failed to deliver the quality of goaltending he was expected to give. He played in only 34 games, posting seven wins, 24 losses, and two ties. He had a save percentage of .877 with a goals against average of 3.18. In the 2003-04 season, he was played in even fewer games, a total of 10 to be exact.

Answer: 1993-94 season and 1998-99 season

In his first all-star game on January 22, 1994, Arturs Irbe played for the western conference as a member of the San Jose Sharks. The western conference was defeated by the eastern conference by a score of nine to eight. In his second all-star game on January 24, 1999, Arturs Irbe played for the World all-stars against the North American all-stars. Again, his side was defeated, this time by a score of 8-6.

Answer: Kevyn Adams and Pavel Bure

The first three penalty shots he faced on March 15, 1995, November 22, 1995, and February 27, 1998, all went into the back of the net. On February 14, 2000, Irbe stopped a penalty shot by Kevyn Adams. On January 25, 2002, Arturs Irbe was forced to make a save against Pavel Bure.

Answer: His gloves and helmet

The reason that he left his gloves and helmet on the bench was that he always did when playing in Latvia, and he was accustomed to it. Other unusual things he has been credited to include repairing his own equipment, often bringing his gear, needle, and thread with him on the airplane.

His warm up for a game never involved lifting weights, instead he put together jigsaw puzzles. He felt that a concentrated mind was far more efficient than an exercised body.