Darin Olver

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| name = Darin Olver

| image = Darin Olver 2009.jpg

| image_size = 240px

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|3|5}}

| birth_place = Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 176

| position = Left winger

| shoots = Left

| league = DEL

| team = Schwenninger Wild Wings

| former_teams = Hartford Wolf Pack
Straubing Tigers
Augsburger Panther
Eisbären Berlin
ERC Ingolstadt

| ntl_team =

| draft = 36th overall

| draft_year = 2004

| draft_team = New York Rangers

| career_start = 2007

| career_end = 2021

}}

Darin Olver (born March 5, 1985) is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey left winger. He is currently playing for Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Playing career

Olver played high school hockey at Eastview High School under head coach Mike Gibbons. Highly recruited out of Canada, he helped his high school team reach the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament in 2001. Olver played college hockey at Northern Michigan University and was a second round, 36th overall, NHL draft pick of the New York Rangers. Upon graduating from his collegiate career, Olver joined the Rangers American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on an amateur try-out to end the 2006–07 season.

Without an offer from the Rangers, Olver left for Germany, signing a one-year contract with the Fischtown Pinguins of the 2nd Bundesliga. Leading Fischtown with 56 points in 52 contests, Olver was picked up by DEL team, the Straubing Tigers.

With a season limited by injury and producing only 11 points, Olver left for the Augsburger Panther, signing a one-year contract on March 2, 2009.{{cite web| url = http://www.aev-panther.de/aev/Augsburger+Panther/Homepage.html?naid=184 | title = Augsburger Panther commit to Olver | publisher = Augsburger Panther |date = 2009-03-02 | accessdate = 2009-03-02 | language = German}} In the 2009–10 season, Olver broke out to be among the DEL leaders with 60 points, resulting in helping an unlikely Augsburg reach the finals for the first time in their DEL history and quickly earning a one-year extension on March 17, 2010.{{cite web| url = http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=526485 | title = Cinderella story playing out in the DEL playoffs | publisher = National Hockey League | date = 2010-04-21 | accessdate = 2010-04-21}}{{cite web| url = http://www.aev-panther.de/aev/Augsburger+Panther/Homepage.html?naid=383 | title = Panthers re-sign Olver! | publisher = Augsburger Panther | date = 2010-03-17 | accessdate = 2010-03-17 | language = German}}

Olver consolidated his position among the elite in Germany in the following 2010–11 season. Despite Augsburg returning to the bottom echelons of the DEL, Olver led the entire league with 47 assists and 70 points to be awarded the DEL's player of the year.

On May 2, 2011, Olver left Augsburg and signed with reigning champions Eisbären Berlin.{{cite web | url = http://www.eisbaeren.de/content/13.php?action=detail&n_id=7405 | title = Rankel, Braun, Busch, Hördler stay - 2 come! | publisher = Eisbären Berlin | date = 2011-05-02 | accessdate = 2011-05-02 | language = German | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927173914/http://www.eisbaeren.de/content/13.php?action=detail&n_id=7405 | archivedate = 2011-09-27 }} He won back-to-back German championships with the Eisbären team in 2012 and 2013. Olver left Berlin after the conclusion of the 2016–17 season and signed with fellow DEL side ERC Ingolstadt.{{Cite web|url=https://www.erc-ingolstadt.de/profis/newsdetail?id=4679|title=OLVER KOMMT, OPPENHEIMER GEHT|last=|first=|date=| website = |access-date=2017-06-06}}

After three seasons with Ingolstadt, Olver left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year contract to continue in the DEL with the Schwenninger Wild Wings on August 20, 2020.

International play

Olver made his debut on the German national team during the 2010 Deutschland Cup.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tagblatt.de/Nachrichten/Deutschland-Cup-fuer-die-Augsburger-Eishockey-Debuetanten-Kettemer-Kohl-und-Olver-wie-ein-Maerchen-192290.html|title=Deutschland-Cup für die Augsburger Eishockey-Debütanten Kettemer, Kohl und Olver wie ein Märchen| website = Schwäbisches Tagblatt|language=de-DE|access-date=2016-03-26}}

Personal

Olver comes from a hockey family. His father, John, played in college and coached many teams in Canada and the United States, including two years as an assistant coach for Northern Michigan University while Darin played there. His younger brother Mark Olver also played hockey at Northern Michigan and also played for the Eisbären Berlin in Germany.

Olver's maternal grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada;{{Cite web|url=http://www.berliner-kurier.de/sport/eisbaeren/darin-und-mark-olver-weihnachten-mit-der-familie--ein-traum-erfuellt-sich-in-berlin-23203884-seite2|title=Darin und Mark Olver: Weihnachten mit der Familie, ein Traum erfüllt sich in Berlin {{!}} Berliner-Kurier.de|last=Rubert|first=Dajana| website = Berliner-Kurier.de|language=de-DE|access-date=2016-03-26}} he received a German passport in 2007.