Kirk Daubenspeck Explained

Kirk Daubenspeck
Birth Date:21 July 1974
Birth Place:Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:190
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Played For:Indianapolis Ice
Jacksonville Lizard Kings
Chesapeake Icebreakers
Rochester Americans
South Carolina Stingrays
Orlando Solar Bears
Colorado Gold Kings
Worcester IceCats
Portland Pirates
Hershey Bears
Career Start:1993
Career End:2006
Draft:151st overall
Draft Year:1992
Draft Team:Philadelphia Flyers

Kirk Daubenspeck (born July 21, 1974) is an American retired ice hockey goaltender who was an All-American for Wisconsin.

Career

Daubenspeck was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992 straight out of Culver Military Academy. He spent the following season playing in the USHL before beginning his college career with the Wisconsin Badgers. After playing just seven games in his freshman season, Daubenspeck's rights were traded along with Claude Boivin to the Ottawa Senators for Mark Lamb. Entering his sophomore season, Daubenspeck got into a competition to replace the departed Jim Carey as the Badger's primary starter. He won the job and remained as Wisconsin's top goalie for the rest of his time in Madison. In his first year as the starter, Daubenspeck won 23 games and helped Wisconsin win the WCHA championship for which he was named tournament MVP. Wisconsin declined after 1995 and fell in the standings. Despite the decline, Daubenspeck remained respected and was named an All-American in 1997 even though he possessed a losing record and less-than-stellar numbers.

After graduating, Daubenspeck signed a rookie contract with Ottawa and participated in their training camp that September. Just before the season began, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 6th round draft pick.[1] Daubenspeck began the year as a backup behind Jeff Hackett. He remained with the team for the first month of the season, not seeing any game action, and was then sent down to the Indianapolis Ice. He played a few games at the IHL level before ending up with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. Daubenspeck spent most of the rest of his career playing AA hockey, making brief appearances with several AHL teams over a nine year span. In 2001, Daubenspeck helped the South Carolina Stingrays win the Kelly Cup, playing in 13 of the team's 18 playoff games. He retired as a player in 2006.

Accident

On February 17, 2011, Daubenspeck was involved in a car accident on Route 18.[2] While driving in heavy fog near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Daubenspeck's car ran into a Semi-trailer truck. He suffered a severe brain injury and was in a coma for six days. While to took several months, Daubenspeck did eventually recover from the crash. A year to the day after the accident, he dropped the ceremonial puck before a game between Wisconsin and Denver.[3]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Playoffs
Team LeagueGP W L T MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1990–91Culver Military AcademyUS-Prep
1991–92Culver Military AcademyUS-Prep2.88 .912
1992–93Sioux City MusketeersUSHL9 0 7 1 470 49 0 6.26 .837
1992–93Wisconsin CapitolsUSHL28 5 20 1 1542 123 0 4.79 .886
1993–94WisconsinWCHA7 2 2 0 280 19 0 4.07 .880
1994–95WisconsinWCHA42 23 15 4 2503 146 0 3.50 .893
1995–96WisconsinWCHA39 17 20 2 2257 151 0 4.01 .885
1996–97WisconsinWCHA33 13 18 2 1925 124 1 3.86 .896
1997–98Indianapolis IceIHL18 6 9 0 953 58 0 3.65 .887
1997–98Jacksonville Lizard KingsECHL32 20 9 2 1865 92 1 2.96 .904
1998–99Jacksonville Lizard KingsECHL8 5 3 0 424 18 0 2.55 .908
1998–99Indianapolis IceIHL12 2 8 1 650 43 0 3.97 .879
1998–99Chesapeake IcebreakersECHL13 7 2 4 774 31 2 2.40 .9207
1999–00South Carolina StingraysECHL6 4 2 0 360 17 0 2.83 .902
1999–00Rochester AmericansAHL22 7 10 4 1235 53 1 2.57 .9131
2000–01Rochester AmericansAHL1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 .769
2000–01Indianapolis IceIHL2 0 1 0 77 3 0 2.34 .870
2000–01South Carolina StingraysECHL45 26 13 3 2624 119 3 2.72 .91513
2001–02Colorado Gold KingsWCHL60 36 19 5 3539 164 4 2.78 .9065
2002–03South Carolina StingraysECHL58 36 16 6 3454 167 0 2.90 .9154
2003–04Worcester IceCatsAHL1 0 1 0 59 2 0 2.04 .923
2003–04South Carolina StingraysECHL47 29 15 2 2773 123 3 2.66 .9207
2004–05Portland PiratesAHL28 14 12 1 1507 58 4 2.31 .930
2004–05South Carolina StingraysECHL25 12 10 3 1437 55 2 2.30 .9341
2005–06South Carolina StingraysECHL2 2 0 0 120 2 0 1.00 .958
2005–06Hershey BearsAHL23 10 6 2 1115 58 2 3.12 .895
USHL totals37 5 27 2 2,012 172 0 5.13 .875
NCAA totals120 55 55 8 6,965 440 1 3.79 .891
ECHL totals236 141 70 20 13,831 624 11 2.71 .91732
IHL totals32 8 18 1 1,680 104 0 3.71 .883
AHL totals75 31 30 7 3,976 177 7 2.67 .9131

Awards and honors

AwardYear
WCHA All-Tournament Team1995, 1996[4]
All-WCHA Second Team1996–97[5]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: Kirk Daubenspeck . NHL backups . November 4, 2021.
  2. News: Former UW goalie Daubenspeck seriously injured . Milwaukee Sentinel Journal . February 24, 2011 . November 4, 2021.
  3. News: Wisconsin Hockey: Kirk Daubenspeck Tribute . YouTube . February 18, 2012 . November 4, 2021.
  4. News: WCHA Tourney History. WCHA. 2014-06-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20140702170427/http://www.wcha.com/men/tourney/history.php. 2014-07-02. dead.
  5. News: WCHA All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  6. News: Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners. NCAA.org. June 11, 2013.