Capitals: A look back at the career of Olaf Kolzig

Before there was the Holtbeast or Sammy there was “Godzilla” manning the crease for the Washington Capitals. Let’s look back on the career of Olaf Kolzig

Olaf Kolzig was born on April 6, 1970 in South Africa to German parents but spent most of his youth growing up in Canada. He was drafted by the Washington Capitals with the 19th pick in the 1989 NHL Draft.

Kolzig was the first African-born hockey player. Even though he was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada, his parent’s German descent allowed him to represent Team Germany in international play.

It took a bit of time and some stints in the minors but soon enough in 1995-96, Kolzig got his shot getting called up as a backup recall to starting netminder Jim Carey. Kolzig wouldn’t become an established starter until opening night of the 1997-98 season after their new acquisition Bill Ranford suffered an injury.

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Kolzig’s record in those 71 games prior to that season was 14-36-8. It didn’t look good on the surface but more playing time for Ollie the Goalie helped him rebound to a 33-18-10 record with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage that season which was Washington’s final season at the Capital Centre and first in the brand new MCI Center (now called Capital One Arena).

That spring Kolzig helped backstop the Capitals all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Kolzig had a 12-9 record with a .941 save percentage along with a 1.93 goals-against average as well as four shutouts. He’s just one of 21 goalies in NHL history to record four shutouts in a postseason.

Kolzig had a down season in 1998-99 where he went 26-31-3 but rebounded in the 1999-00 season where he went 41-20-11 with a 2.24 GAA and .917 save percentage with five shutouts. That season saw Kolzig take home the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender.

The next season Kolzig went 37-26-8 with a 2.48 GAA and .909 save percentage. He followed that up going 31-29-8. The Caps had a down season in 2003-04 which happened to be right before the NHL lockout.

During that work stoppage, Kolzig signed with the German hockey club Eisbaren Berlin. He returned to the Caps when hockey resumed and in the middle of the 2005-06 season, he signed an extension for up to two more years.

The net belonged to Kolzig until February 2008 when the team acquired Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline who took over the crease during the home stretch. He did win his 300th game becoming the 23rd goalie to do so on March 12th in a win over the Calgary Flames.

Kolzig left the Caps in the summer of 2008 to sign a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an unrestricted free agent. He finished his Caps career with a 301-293-86 record over 16 seasons with a 2.70 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

He remained with the Caps long after his playing days first serving as a goaltending coach and now a professional development coach working closely with the Hershey Bears and South Carolina Stingrays. He’s given a lot to the Capitals organization and his name is forever engraved on the Stanley Cup.