Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 4

O M G H O C K E Y S T O RY O F T H E M O N T H
NIGEL
9 D AW E S
HEI GHT 5’8 | W EIGHT 185 | AGE 35
GOALS 36 | ASSISTS 27 | POINTS 63
B Y S C O T T TAY L O R
Photo courtesy KHL
Joined Barys Astana of the KHL in
a terfiveseasonsinthe H 
and AHL. Played for Kazakhstan
in the 2016 and ‘17 World
Championships.
36
Had 36 goals and 63 points
in 59 games with Barys Astana
last season.
39
Had 39 goals and 84 points
in 212 NHL games from
2006-07 to 2010-11.
A dual citizen, Canada/Kazakhstan
from Winnipeg, Manitoba
4 | G AM E ON | N OVEM BER 2017
WINNIPEG’S NIGEL
IGEL DA
DAW
WES S TILL LOVES LIFE IN ASTANA
Long ago, 32-year-old Winnipegger Nigel Dawes
made peace with himself and gave up his dream of
becoming an NHL star. To this day, he’ll tell you it
was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Dawes was a former Winnipeg Warrior scoring
star who played four seasons with the Kootenay
Ice of the Western Hockey League and went to play
 amesinthe H withfivedi erentteams.
However, in 2011, when his agent got him an
offer with Barys Astana in Russia’s Kontinental
Hockey League, he made a commitment. He
decided the NHL dream was over and he was
going to Kazakhstan – all in. “I was 26 at the
time and I had made peace with it,” he said this
summer after a workout at Focus Fitness at the
Bell MTS Iceplex. “I didn’t know what was going
tohappen butitdefinitelyhelpedmenothavin 
one foot in, one foot out.” Today, Dawes is a KHL
superstar. hefi thleadin scorerinthelea ue
and a member of Kazakhstan’s National team.
 ettoplay minutesani ht firstline 
power play; everything I grew up with,” he said.
“Astana is a beautiful city that also feels like home
now. I never thought I would say that, but that’s
how it feels.”
Nigel and his Winnipeg wife, Cassandra, have
a young son named Benson and his life is more
stable now than it was when he was a junior.
“It’s the longest I’ve ever played anywhere,” he
said. “I’m not getting called up and sent down. It’s
a lot easier on the family.”