# Gašper Kopitar

Gašper Kopitar (born 13 August 1992), is a Slovenian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. He is the younger brother of Anže Kopitar, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.

## Playing career

Kopitar was born in Jesenice, to Matjaž and Mateja Kopitar. In his youth, Kopitar played for the youth team of his hometown, HK Acroni Jesenice. In 2008, he moved to the USA and played the rest of his junior years there. On 25 April 2012, he began his senior career when he signed a contract in Europe with Swedish club Mora IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan. In December 2013 he signed a contract with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL. Kopitar scored his first goal with the Reign on 5 January 2014 against the San Francisco Bulls, winning the game 3-2 in overtime.
On 1 October 2014, Kopitar agreed to return to the Reign, signing a standard player contract for the 2014–15 season.
On 28 July 2015, Kopitar remained within the Los Angeles Kings' ECHL affiliate, signing a one-year contract with the Manchester Monarchs.
Kopitar remained within the Kings' ECHL affiliates through parts of six seasons. Suffering from prolonged injury, which ruled him out of the entire 2017–18 season, Kopitar returned to play in 7 games in the following 2018–19 season before opting to end his professional career and announce his immediate retirement on 5 December 2018.

## International play

Kopitar played in his first senior tournament for his country in 2013, when he participated in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which Slovenia won.

## 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 | Los Angeles Jr. Kings U18 | T1EHL U18 | 46 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 55 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 52 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | Mora IK | J20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | Mora IK | Allsv | 42 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | Mora IK | J20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | Mora IK | Allsv | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | Ontario Reign | ECHL | 32 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | Ontario Reign | ECHL | 41 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015–16 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 57 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 42 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Manchester Monarchs | ECHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Allsv totals | Allsv totals | Allsv totals | 55 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| ECHL totals | ECHL totals | ECHL totals | 179 | 35 | 63 | 98 | 29 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2010 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2011 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2012 | Slovenia | WJC-D1 | | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2013 | Slovenia | Oly | | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Slovenia | WC | | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |