Teddy Blueger
Teodors Bļugers is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. He was selected 52nd overall in the 2012 NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, making him the third-highest selected Latvian player in the NHL entry draft, behind Zemgus Girgensons and Sandis Ozoliņš.
Bļugers played for Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Minnesota from 2009 to 2012 before committing to play collegiate ice hockey for Minnesota State. While attending Shattuck, he helped them clinch a USA Hockey national U18 title and 2011 Bauer/NIT tournament title. After graduating from Shattuck, Bļugers spent four seasons at Minnesota State where he earned All-Tournament Team honors. From there, Bļugers played in five seasons with Pittsburgh before he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2023 trade deadline. Although he only played for part of the playoffs, Bļugers would win the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights that season, and sign with the Canucks the following off-season.
Early life
Bļugers was born on 15 August 1994, in Riga, Latvia, to parents Valentīns Bļugers and Jana Bļugere. As his mother was a close friend to Elvis Merzļikins' parents, Bļugers and Merzļikins grew up playing together in Latvia. As a youth, Bļugers played both ice hockey and soccer until he was 12 or 13. As such, he grew up a fan of FC Barcelona and Ronaldinho. Due to his father's career as an attorney and a member of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation, Bļugers attended the International School of Latvia before leaving for Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota. His younger brother Roberts also played for Shattuck-Saint Mary's from 2012 to 2016. Bļugers chose to attend Shattuck after seeing a segment focusing on Shattuck alumnus Sidney Crosby.Playing career
Amateur
Bļugers played for Shattuck-Saint Mary's from 2009 until 2012 and he helped lead them to a USA Hockey national U18 title and 2011 Bauer/NIT tournament title.He committed to a collegiate career with Minnesota State and played four seasons in the NCAA from 2012 to 2016. Bļugers was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2014 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2015–16, Bļugers was named to the All-WCHA First Team.
Pittsburgh Penguins
On 22 March 2016, Bļugers signed an entry-level agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished the 2015–16 season with Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins playing in 10 games. In his first full season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Bļugers set a new franchise record for plus-minus rating by a rookie with a +24.Bļugers made his NHL debut on 30 January 2019, in Pittsburgh's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On 1 February 2019, Bļugers scored his first NHL goal, against the Ottawa Senators in a 5–3 Penguins win.
On 16 July 2019, Bļugers re-signed with the Penguins on a two-year, one-way contract with an average annual value of $750,000. On 14 July 2021, he was re-signed to a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension with the Penguins.