Pēteris Skudra Explained

Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:183
Draft:Undrafted
Played For:Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres
Boston Bruins
Vancouver Canucks
Ak Bars Kazan
Khimik Moscow Oblast
CSKA Moscow
Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Ntl Team:Latvia
Birth Date:24 April 1973
Birth Place:Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Career Start:1994
Career End:2007

Pēteris "Peter" Skudra (born April 24, 1973) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey goaltender and head coach. During a playing career that lasted from 1994 to 2007 he played for several teams in Latvia, Russia and North America. After starting his career in Latvia, Skudra moved to the North American minor leagues in 1994. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1997 and made his debut that year. Over the next six seasons, Skudra played for the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Vancouver Canucks. In 2003, he moved to Russia, playing the last four seasons of his career. Playing in the NHL primarily as a back-up goalie, Skudra appeared in 146 games during his career.

Playing career

Originally signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh in 1997, Skudra went on to play 74 games with the Penguins over three years. After the 1999–2000 season, he was signed by the Boston Bruins. After playing for the Bruins in 2000–01 season, he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks as a backup to Dan Cloutier. Towards the end of the 2002–03 season, Skudra fell out of favor with coach Marc Crawford who instead decided to have Alex Auld backup Dan Cloutier for that season's playoffs.

In 2003, Skudra left North America for the Russian League, where he played for Ak Bars Kazan, Khimik Moscow Oblast, CSKA Moscow, and Metallurg Novokuznetsk. On October 22, 2007, Skudra announced his retirement after 13 professional seasons.[1]

Coaching career

In April 2013, Skudra was announced as the new head coach of Russian club, Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod of the KHL.[2] He spent five seasons with the team. He also briefly coached Traktor Chelyabinsk in 2019.

On 20 July 2020, Skudra was introduced in a dual general manager and head coaching role with Latvian KHL club, Dinamo Riga.[3]

Roller hockey

Skudra also played one season in the Roller Hockey International league for the Oklahoma Coyotes.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T/OT MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1990–91RASMS RigaUSSR-31
1991–92RASMS RigaUSSR-333
1992–93Pardaugava RigaRUS27 1498 74 2.96 1 60 5 0 5.00
1992–93Pardaugava RigaLAT12
1993–94Pardaugava RigaRUS14 783 42 3.22 1 55 4 4.36 0
1993–94Hokeja Centrs RigaLAT3
1994–95Greensboro MonarchsECHL33 13 9 5 1612 113 0 4.20 .8696 2 2 341 28 0 4.92 .872
1994–95Mississippi RiverKingsCHL2 0 1 0 80 8 0 6.00 .830
1995–96Erie PanthersECHL12 3 8 1 681 47 0 4.14 .871
1995–96Johnstown ChiefsECHL30 12 11 4 1657 98 0 3.55 .908
1996–97Hamilton BulldogsAHL32 8 16 2 1615 101 0 3.75 .889
1996–97Johnstown ChiefsECHL4 2 1 1 200 11 0 3.30 .910
1997–98Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL17 6 4 3 851 26 0 1.83 .924
1997–98Houston AerosIHL9 5 3 1 499 23 0 2.77 .903
1997–98Kansas City BladesIHL13 10 3 0 775 37 0 2.86 .9108 4 4 512 20 1 2.34 .922
1998–99Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL37 15 11 5 1914 89 3 2.79 .892
1999–00Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL20 5 7 3 922 48 1 3.12 .8721 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .909
2000–01Buffalo SabresNHL1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 1.000
2000–01Boston BruinsNHL25 6 12 1 1116 62 0 3.33 .879
2000–01Providence BruinsAHL3 3 0 0 180 5 0 1.67 .933
2001–02Vancouver CanucksNHL23 10 8 2 1166 47 1 2.42 .9072 0 1 96 5 0 3.13 .891
2002–03Vancouver CanucksNHL23 9 5 6 1192 54 1 2.72 .897
2002–03Manitoba MooseAHL1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .906
2003–04Ak Bars KazanRUS9 545 20 0 2.20 .884
2003–04Khimik VoskresenskRUS34 2045 59 6 1.73 .935
2004–05Khimik VoskresenskRUS42 2339 97 3 2.49 .908
2005–06CSKA MoscowRUS24 2.24 .9197 2.76 .897
2006–07CSKA MoscowRUS19 2.93 .899
2006–07Metallurg NovokuznetskRUS13 2.00 .9202 5.50 .823
NHL Totals 146 51 47 20 7163 326 6 2.73 .8943 0 1 116 6 0 3.10 .895

International

YearTeamEventGP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1991Soviet UnionEJC3 1.02
1993LatviaWC-C2 1 0 0 81 0 1 0.00 1.000
1997LatviaWC1 0 0 0 25 3 0 7.16
Junior totals3 1.02
Senior totals3 1 0 0 106 3 1 1.69

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Peter Skudra Retires . 2007-10-22 . Goaltending Consulting Group . 2010-01-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711102801/http://www.goaltendingconsultantgroup.com/gcg_5439.html?ID=&doc_id=10315&content=false . 2011-07-11 . dead .
  2. Web site: Latvian Skudra becomes new head coach of Russian ice hockey club Nizhny Novgorod "Torpedo" .
  3. Web site: Peteris Skudra announced as Dinamo Riga head coach . . 20 July 2020 . 20 July 2020 . Latvian.