Kurt Sauer
Encyclopedia
Kurt Christopher Sauer is a professional ice hockey
defenseman who last played for the Phoenix Coyotes
in the National Hockey League
. He is the older brother of Michael Sauer
, also a defenseman who plays for the New York Rangers
.
by the Colorado Avalanche
. Sauer remained unsigned and continued to play for his junior team the Spokane Chiefs
. In June 2002, Sauer was signed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on the influence of new coach Mike Babcock
, who coached Sauer at the Spokane Chiefs.
In Sauer's debut NHL year in 2003, with Anaheim, he made it to the Stanley Cup
finals. The following year on February 21, 2004, Sauer was traded to the team that drafted him, the Colorado Avalanche, for Martin Skoula
. Sauer spent the next 4½ years with the Avalanche before leaving as a free agent.
On July 1, 2008, Sauer signed a four-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes worth an average of $1.75 million per year.
In addition to younger brother, Michael, an older brother, Kent, was a draftee of the Nashville Predators who was forced to retire due to knee problems. His oldest brother Craig
played college football at the University of Minnesota
and played in the NFL
with the Atlanta Falcons
and the Minnesota Vikings
until a foot injury forced him into retirement. His father, Curt, played professional baseball
in the Minnesota Twins
system.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenseman who last played for the Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. He is the older brother of Michael Sauer
Michael Sauer (ice hockey)
Michael "Mike" Curtis Sauer is an American ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the New York Rangers of the NHL. He is the younger brother of Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer, and of former Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Craig Sauer.He was drafted in the 2nd round,...
, also a defenseman who plays for the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
.
Playing career
Sauer was drafted 88th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft2000 NHL Entry Draft
The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was held from June 24 to 25 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild...
by the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
. Sauer remained unsigned and continued to play for his junior team the Spokane Chiefs
Spokane Chiefs
The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. Spokane consistently ranks in the top 10 in the...
. In June 2002, Sauer was signed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on the influence of new coach Mike Babcock
Mike Babcock
Michael "Mike" Babcock, Jr. is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and former player. He serves as head coach of the Red Wings. He also served as the head coach of Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...
, who coached Sauer at the Spokane Chiefs.
In Sauer's debut NHL year in 2003, with Anaheim, he made it to the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
finals. The following year on February 21, 2004, Sauer was traded to the team that drafted him, the Colorado Avalanche, for Martin Skoula
Martin Skoula
Martin Škoula is a professional ice hockey defenceman, currently with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.- Playing career :...
. Sauer spent the next 4½ years with the Avalanche before leaving as a free agent.
On July 1, 2008, Sauer signed a four-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes worth an average of $1.75 million per year.
Personal life
Kurt and wife Carmen have 4 children; son Kohl (born April 2003), Kasen, Kade and Kruz.In addition to younger brother, Michael, an older brother, Kent, was a draftee of the Nashville Predators who was forced to retire due to knee problems. His oldest brother Craig
Craig Sauer
Craig Curtis Sauer is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played for the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings...
played college football at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and played in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
until a foot injury forced him into retirement. His father, Curt, played professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
in the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
system.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | North Iowa Huskies North Iowa Huskies The North Iowa Huskies were a junior ice hockey team based in Mason City, Iowa. They were a member of the United States Hockey League from 1983 to 1999. They played their home games at North Iowa Ice Arena... |
USHL | 52 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Spokane Chiefs Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. Spokane consistently ranks in the top 10 in the... |
WHL Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada... |
71 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 48 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 48 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 85 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 61 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 73 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2002–03 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
80 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 74 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 55 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Colorado Avalanche Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise... |
NHL | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 2005–06 AHL season The 2005–06 AHL season was the 70th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-seven teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup, defeating the Milwaukee Admirals in the finals.... |
Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 48 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 54 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the... |
Phoenix Coyotes Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena.... |
NHL | 68 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 2009–10 NHL season The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010... |
Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 357 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 250 | 43 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | ||||