# Darren Dietz

Darren Dietz (Kazakh: Даррен Диц; born July 17, 1993) is a Canadian-born Kazakhstani professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 138th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing career

Dietz played in the WHL since the 2009–10 season with the Saskatoon Blades. He was named to the 2013 WHL East First All-Star Team.
On September 16, 2013, after attending the Montreal Canadiens' pre-season training camp, Dietz was assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.
Montreal did not offer Dietz a contract after the 2015-16 season, making him a free agent. On July 1, 2016, Dietz agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals. In the 2016–17 season, Dietz was assigned to the Hershey Bears, collecting 6 goals and 12 points in 39 contests. On March 8, 2017, Dietz was loaned by the Capitals to fellow AHL outfit, the Texas Stars, in exchange for Mattias Bäckman. He contributed with 2 assists in 13 games with the Stars to end the season. On June 26, 2017, the Capitals announced that Dietz would not be offered a new contract as a restricted free agent.
With no NHL prospects, Dietz signed a one-year deal with Kazakh club, Barys Astana of the KHL on July 1, 2017.
During the 2021–22 season, in his fifth season captaining Barys Nur-Sultan, Dietz's tenure in Kazakhstan ended after posting 21 points through 34 regular season games, when he was traded to HC CSKA Moscow in exchange for financial compensation on December 17, 2021.
Dietz played for CSKA for three seasons before departing via a trade in exchange for financial compensation with Avangard Omsk on 2 May 2024. Then he signed a two-year contract extension starting in the 2024–25 season.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2008–09 | Medicine Hat Tigers | AMHL | 34 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | AMHL | 33 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 105 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 2009–10 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010–11 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 68 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 72 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 118 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2012–13 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 72 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 100 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 34 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 71 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 61 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 39 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Texas Stars | AHL | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Barys Astana | KHL | 44 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Barys Astana | KHL | 62 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 59 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 45 |
| 2019–20 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 54 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 65 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2020–21 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 53 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 69 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 2021–22 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 34 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 2022–23 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 44 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 18 |
| 2023–24 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 55 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — |
| KHL totals | KHL totals | KHL totals | 354 | 73 | 128 | 201 | 345 | 74 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 86 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2019 | Kazakhstan | WC-D1 | 17th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 2020 | Kazakhstan | OGQ | DNQ | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2021 | Kazakhstan | WC | 10th | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2022 | Kazakhstan | WC | 14th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 6 |

## Awards and honours

| Award | Year |
| WHL |||
| First All-Star Team | 2013 |
| KHL |||
| All-Star Game | 2019, 2020 |
| First All-Star Team | 2019 |
| Best Defenseman | 2019 |
| Gagarin Cup (CSKA Moscow) | 2022, 2023 |