Kirk Daubenspeck (born July 21, 1974) is an American retired ice hockey

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Career

Daubenspeck was drafted by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

in 1992 straight out of

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver Milita ...

. He spent the following season playing in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

before beginning his college career with the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

. After playing just seven games in his freshman season, Daubenspeck's rights were traded along with

Claude Boivin Claude Boivin (born March 1, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators. Biography As a youth, Boivin played in the 1983 Quebec Intern ...

to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

for

Mark Lamb Mark William Lamb (born August 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current general manager and head coach of the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Lamb was previously the head coach of the Tu ...

. Entering his sophomore season, Daubenspeck got into a competition to replace the departed Jim Carey as the Badger's primary starter. He won the job and remained as Wisconsin's top goalie for the rest of his time in Madison. In his first year as the starter, Daubenspeck won 23 games and helped Wisconsin win the WCHA championship for which he was named tournament MVP. Wisconsin declined after 1995 and fell in the standings. Despite the decline, Daubenspeck remained respected and was named an All-American in 1997 even though he possessed a losing record and less-than-stellar numbers. After graduating, Daubenspeck signed a rookie contract with Ottawa and participated in their training camp that September. Just before the season began, he was traded to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

for a 6th round draft pick. Daubenspeck began the year as a backup behind

Jeff Hackett Jeffrey David Hackett (born June 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Bosto ...

. He remained with the team for the first month of the season, not seeing any game action, and was then sent down to the

Indianapolis Ice The Indianapolis Ice were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indian ...

. He played a few games at the IHL level before ending up with the

Jacksonville Lizard Kings The Jacksonville Lizard Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formerly known as the Louisville Icehawks, they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1995–2000. They played their home games in the ...

. Daubenspeck spent most of the rest of his career playing AA hockey, making brief appearances with several AHL teams over a nine year span. In 2001, Daubenspeck helped the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston ...

win the

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

, playing in 13 of the team's 18 playoff games. He retired as a player in 2006.

Accident

On February 17, 2011, Daubenspeck was involved in a car accident on Route 18. While driving in heavy fog near

Dodgeville, Wisconsin Dodgeville is a city in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 4,984 at the 2020 census, making it the county's most populous city. Dodgeville is part of the Madison metropolitan area. History In 1827 ...

, Daubenspeck's car ran into a

Semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called ...

. He suffered a severe brain injury and was in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

for six days. While to took several months, Daubenspeck did eventually recover from the crash. A year to the day after the accident, he dropped the ceremonial puck before a game between Wisconsin and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daubenspeck, Kirk 1974 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players Indianapolis Ice players Jacksonville Lizard Kings players Chesapeake Icebreakers players Rochester Americans players South Carolina Stingrays players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players Colorado Gold Kings players Worcester IceCats players Portland Pirates players Hershey Bears players Philadelphia Flyers draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen