He led the Slovenian Ice Hockey League in scoring at the age of 16, and Swedish scout Lars Soder recruited Kopitar for the Elitserien in 2004 (Soder had originally discovered Kopitar when he was 13 at a European Youth Olympic Festival).
During the 2012 NHL Lockout, Bobby Ryan of Anaheim Ducks and Anze Kopitar of the Stanley Cup-winning Los Angeles Kings joined the team to play with his brother, Gašper, for the duration of the lockout.