The Games.org

Darius Kasparaitis (born October 16, 1972 in Elektrenai, Lithuania) is an ethnic Lithuanian professional ice hockey defenseman, also known by the nickname "Kaspar". He has Russian citizenship and plays for the Russian national hockey team.

Kasparaitis was born in Elektrenai, Lithuania. He left Lithuania for Russia at 14 years of age to play ice hockey at a higher level. Kasparaitis played his first game for HC Dynamo Moscow, one of the premier teams in the Soviet Union at the age of 16 during the 1988-89 season, and won the Soviet League championship with them in 1992.

He was drafted by the New York Islanders with the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Darius has played for the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers.

Kasparaitis is known for his aggressive physical playing style - including the famous hipcheck - and has led his teams in hits several times, including his rookie season, in 1992-93 NHL season with the New York Islanders. One of the players that he seemed to single out during that season was Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux. Lemieux had to play with his Lithuanian antagonist when Kasparaitis was traded to the Penguins, a trade that did not only demonstrate Kasparaitis' harsh side but also his scoring talents.

Kasparaitis eventually wound up back in the Empire State, being signed to the New York Rangers. It was widely speculated that his contract was going to be bought out prior to the 2005-2006 season. However, the Rangers chose to keep him for leadership purposes. During the 2005-06 season, he served as an alternate captain of the Rangers, along with Jaromir Jagr and Steve Rucchin, as the Rangers had no captain.

Due to the fact that Lithuanian ice hockey team was relatively weak and hadn't ever played in major competitions, Kasparaitis chose to represent Russia in official events. In December of 2005, Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.