Darin Olver Explained

Darin Olver
Birth Date:5 March 1985
Birth Place:Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:176
Position:Left winger
Shoots:Left
League:DEL
Team:Schwenninger Wild Wings
Former Teams:Hartford Wolf Pack
Straubing Tigers
Augsburger Panther
Eisbären Berlin
ERC Ingolstadt
Draft:36th overall
Draft Year:2004
Draft Team:New York Rangers
Career Start:2007
Career End:2021

Darin Olver (born March 5, 1985) is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey left winger. He is currently playing for Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Playing career

Olver played high school hockey at Eastview High School under head coach Mike Gibbons. Highly recruited out of Canada, he helped his high school team reach the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament in 2001. Olver played college hockey at Northern Michigan University and was a second round, 36th overall, NHL draft pick of the New York Rangers. Upon graduating from his collegiate career, Olver joined the Rangers American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on an amateur try-out to end the 2006–07 season.

Without an offer from the Rangers, Olver left for Germany, signing a one-year contract with the Fischtown Pinguins of the 2nd Bundesliga. Leading Fischtown with 56 points in 52 contests, Olver was picked up by DEL team, the Straubing Tigers.

With a season limited by injury and producing only 11 points, Olver left for the Augsburger Panther, signing a one-year contract on March 2, 2009.[1] In the 2009–10 season, Olver broke out to be among the DEL leaders with 60 points, resulting in helping an unlikely Augsburg reach the finals for the first time in their DEL history and quickly earning a one-year extension on March 17, 2010.[2] [3]

Olver consolidated his position among the elite in Germany in the following 2010–11 season. Despite Augsburg returning to the bottom echelons of the DEL, Olver led the entire league with 47 assists and 70 points to be awarded the DEL's player of the year.

On May 2, 2011, Olver left Augsburg and signed with reigning champions Eisbären Berlin.[4] He won back-to-back German championships with the Eisbären team in 2012 and 2013. Olver left Berlin after the conclusion of the 2016–17 season and signed with fellow DEL side ERC Ingolstadt.[5]

After three seasons with Ingolstadt, Olver left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year contract to continue in the DEL with the Schwenninger Wild Wings on August 20, 2020.

International play

Olver made his debut on the German national team during the 2010 Deutschland Cup.[6]

Personal

Olver comes from a hockey family. His father, John, played in college and coached many teams in Canada and the United States, including two years as an assistant coach for Northern Michigan University while Darin played there. His younger brother Mark Olver also played hockey at Northern Michigan and most recently plays for Eisbären Berlin in Germany.

Olver's maternal grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada;[7] he received a German passport in 2007.

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2000–01Eastview High SchoolHSMN
2001–02Eastview High SchoolHSMN
2002–03Chilliwack ChiefsBCHL5934558957
2003–04Northern Michigan UniversityCCHA4113193226
2004–05Northern Michigan UniversityCCHA409344330
2005–06Northern Michigan UniversityCCHA3615203532
2006–07Northern Michigan UniversityCCHA4114203447
2006–07Hartford Wolf PackAHL61018
2007–08Fischtown PinguinsGER.25221355656774116
2008–09Straubing TigersDEL35291118
2009–10Augsburger PantherDEL56263460601467136
2010–11Augsburger PantherDEL4823477042
2011–12Eisbären BerlinDEL492425495413410146
2012–13Eisbären BerlinDEL34151732571348128
2013–14Eisbären BerlinDEL5112253740
2014–15Eisbären BerlinDEL521026361830000
2015–16Eisbären BerlinDEL4914264036710118
2016–17Eisbären BerlinDEL40131831181433610
2017–18ERC IngolstadtDEL521719362450110
2018–19ERC IngolstadtDEL46914233471128
2019–20ERC IngolstadtDEL472111328
2020–21Schwenninger Wild WingsDEL1515612
DEL totals5741682764444417619304956

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Augsburger Panther commit to Olver . . 2009-03-02 . 2009-03-02 . German.
  2. Web site: Cinderella story playing out in the DEL playoffs . . 2010-04-21 . 2010-04-21.
  3. Web site: Panthers re-sign Olver! . . 2010-03-17 . 2010-03-17 . German.
  4. Web site: Rankel, Braun, Busch, Hördler stay - 2 come! . . 2011-05-02 . 2011-05-02 . German . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927173914/http://www.eisbaeren.de/content/13.php?action=detail&n_id=7405 . 2011-09-27 .
  5. Web site: OLVER KOMMT, OPPENHEIMER GEHT. 2017-06-06.
  6. Web site: Deutschland-Cup für die Augsburger Eishockey-Debütanten Kettemer, Kohl und Olver wie ein Märchen. Schwäbisches Tagblatt. de-DE. 2016-03-26.
  7. Web site: Darin und Mark Olver: Weihnachten mit der Familie, ein Traum erfüllt sich in Berlin Berliner-Kurier.de. Rubert. Dajana. Berliner-Kurier.de. de-DE. 2016-03-26.