2000-01 Dieter Kochan Game-Worn Tampa Bay Lightning Road Jersey

Dieter Kochan was born on November 5, 1974 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Taking a year off of play after a year in the USHL, Kochan was drafted 98th overall by the Vancouver Canucks. For four years, from 1993-94 until 1996-97, Kochan played collegiate hockey for Northern Michigan University. Then like all great stories of goaltending, it happened. Signed as an emergency free agent on March 27, Kochan was immediately thrust from the UHL into his first NHL game on March 28, 2000, a 4-2 loss against the Dallas Stars. Dieter Kochan was and will always be the first and only goaltender ever to make the jump straight from the UHL into the NHL (in fact, while in the UHL in 1999, he even scored a goal). He appeared in five games in 1999-00 before appearing in ten more games with Tampa in 2000-01, five more in 2001-02, and then a final game for the Minnesota Wild in 2002-03. After spending the rest of his career in the AHL, Kochan eventually retired from play at the conclusion of the 2006-07 season. He has since taken up coaching.

In his 21 game NHL career, he compiled a 1-11-1 record with a 3.96 GAA and a 0.862 save average. This exact jersey can be found picture on ITG's 2001-02 Between the Pipes base card which is pictured below:

Acquired from fellow collector on gameworn.net

Dates of game use: N/A

Photomatched: YES