Great News! June 30th, 2006
Karlis has signed a multi-year contract with the Avs!!!!

Skrastins Agree To Multi-Year Deal
(6/30/2006) The Colorado Avalanche announced today that the club has signed defensemen
Karlis Skrastins to a multi-year contract.
Karlis was an unrestricted free agent and could have tested the free agent
market beginning tomorrow.

"Brett (Clark) and Karlis (Skrastins) had very strong seasons for this club
last year," said Avalanche Executive Vice President
and General Manager Francois Giguere. "Their dependability and individual
skills were coveted by many teams.
The long-term commitment they've made will add stability and depth to our
blueline for the coming years."

"Their performance allowed our coaches to play them against the opposition's
top lines for most of the season and they responded very well," added Giguere.

Skrastins, who turns 32 on July 9, appeared in all 82 games for the fifth
consecutive season in 2005-06. He has now played in 433 straight games,
the longest active streak in the NHL and the second longest streak by a
defenseman in NHL history. He enters the 2006-07 campaign just 53 games
shy of equaling the mark of 486 consecutive games set by Tim Horton with
the Maple Leafs from 1961 to 1968.

Skrastins enjoyed the second highest scoring season of his career
in 2005-06, collecting 14 points (3g, 11a). He led the team
and finished second in the NHL with 207 blocked shots, trailing only
Buffalo's Jay McKee (241). Skrastins finished tied for the team lead
with two short-handed goals and logged the third most ice time of any
Avalanche player (21:49 per game).
Article : CLick HEre



NEW!




2004-05 COMMENTS BY PIERRE LACROIX
"Karlis' play was a key part of the on-ice success of our hockey club last
season," said Colorado Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix.
"While his pure defensive style means that Karlis' play often goes unnoticed,
his experience and durability were invaluable to our defensive corps."
(excerpt)

Karlis Skrastins: "Skratch" is never hard to find. And it is not because of
his long Elvis sideburns. It's his performance that has been noticeable. Skrastins
is primarily a defensive defenseman, but he has shown a lot of offensive upside
over his time at the IIHF World Championships. At Finland 2003, he scored a hat
trick as his team beat Belarus. Yet Skrastins has also been one of the most
durable players in hockey. He has the longest active game streak in the NHL
at 351. Skrastins' career first began to take off when Team Russia assistant
coach Vladimir Yurzinov signed him to play for his TPS Turku side. Based on
his play in Finland, the Nashville Predators drafted and signed the Riga native.
After four solid seasons with Nashville, Skrastins was traded to the Colorado
Avalanche where he formed a solid paring with Adam Foote. A pleasant person
off the ice, Skrastins is known for playing hard-nosed hockey between the boards.
He takes the body and clears out the front of the net effectively. Skrastins
gained notoriety for his hit on Marcus Nilson at the 2003 tournament, which
sidelined the Swedish forward out with a concussion. So far here, his two
goals tie him with Janis Sprukts for the team lead. He will have to be a
force at both ends of the ice if Latvia is to prevail against a superior
foe in this game.
John Sanful

IHWC.net 2005

What visitors of this site have said:

Jan. 18, 2004
"Hi bugg,
I really like the Skrastins site, it came out great!"
--Teemu

Evila71 says: "nice job... go Skrastins."

Jan. 19, 2004
"Very cool, Karlis was a great trade and I liked him when he was a Predator (even though
I'm a Avs fan I had to start liking the predators because they play a fired up game).
Karlis was their defensive anchor and us getting him made me feel much better about
losing DeVries! Thanks for taking the time to put this site up and I'll definitely
check it out from time to time."
--Andrew

"very nice job..wats surprising is that Skrastins in the current NHL ironman"
--SoCalAvsFan

CzechAvsFan says:
"Good work, nice site."

"wow nice site Bugg keep it up"
--skipsta

Coco8 says:
"Great site! You take very nice photos."

"Hey Bugg!!! Congratulations for a very very very nice job!!!! The site is awesome!!"
;) Bugg RULES!!! ;)
--Brazilian Avs Fan

Jan. 20, 2004
bitchin' -- i really like it
--wickedsteve

AvsFanatic03 says:
"I really like it"

"I'm SO GLAD to see a fan site started for Karlis by an Avs fan.
Karlis is a class act all the way, I just love him to bits."
--tracy

MilanRulez says:
"Wow,this is one hell of a site. Hats off,congrats!!
Karlis seems to be a cool person,gotta love him!!"

"Great site! Thanx for starting a site for him so his Preds fans can
continue to see pics. I can't tell you how much I miss him!"
--Pam

as of January 16, 2004
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