Oskar Osala
Oskar Osala (born 26 December 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey left wing currently playing with Oulun Kärpät of the Liiga.
Oskar Osala | |||
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Born |
Vaasa, Finland | 26 December 1987||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 243 lb (110 kg; 17 st 5 lb) | ||
Position | Left Wing | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
Liiga team Former teams |
Oulun Kärpät Espoo Blues Washington Capitals Carolina Hurricanes Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk | ||
National team |
| ||
NHL Draft |
97th overall, 2006 Washington Capitals | ||
Playing career | 2004–present |
Playing career
He started his career with Vaasa-based Sport. He made his North American debut with the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs in 2005, and was drafted 97th overall in the 4th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals.
In the 2007–08 season, he returned to Finland where he played for the Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga; made his debut with the senior national team; and was named SM-liiga rookie of the year.
Osala signed a three-year contract with the Capitals in June 2008, and was assigned to Washington's AHL affiliate in Hershey.[1] On 10 December 2008, Osala made his NHL debut replacing the injured Tomas Fleischmann in the Caps' 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins, playing two games before being returned to the Bears. Osala finished the season with the Hershey Bears' Calder Cup winning team, scoring two goals in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.
On 3 March 2010, Osala was traded with Brian Pothier to the Carolina Hurricanes for Joe Corvo.[2] Osala made a brief NHL appearance with Carolina shortly after the trade, but spent most of the remainder of the season with the Albany River Rats.
Unable to find a role with the Hurricanes and subsequently assigned to AHL affiliate the Charlotte Checkers for the duration of the following season, Osala signed a one-year contract with Russian team Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on 25 May 2011.[3]
On 10 December 2013, during the 2013–14, his third with Neftekhimik, Osala was traded to division competitors Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He contributed 6 assists in the post-season to help Metallurg claim their first Gagarin Cup.
Osala played 5 seasons with Metallurg, which won a second Gagarin Cup in the 2015–16 campaign, before opting to leave the KHL following the 2017–18 season.
Citing a lack of drive, Osala sat out the beginning of the 2018–19 season as a free agent.[4] On 12 November 2018, Osala opted to end his hiatus and agreed to a one-year contract for the remainder of the season in returning to his homeland with Oulun Kärpät of the top flight Liiga.[5]
International play
Osala shared the goal scoring title in 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships. Osala scored five goals in six games for Finland, sharing the lead with four other players.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2003–04 | Sport | Mestis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2004–05 | Sport | Mestis | 21 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
2005–06 | Mississauga IceDogs | OHL | 68 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2006–07 | Mississauga IceDogs | OHL | 54 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 81 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
2007–08 | Blues | SM-l | 53 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 62 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 8 | ||
2008–09 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 75 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 47 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 17 | ||
2008–09 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2009–10 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 53 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2009–10 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 16 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 59 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 55 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 29 | ||
2011–12 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHL | 41 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHL | 44 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 52 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | ||
2013–14 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHL | 33 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | 19 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 43 | ||
2014–15 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | 55 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 85 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
2015–16 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | 60 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 76 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | ||
2016–17 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | 60 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 53 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 29 | ||
2017–18 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | 55 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 90 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | ||
2018–19 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 29 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 45 | ||
KHL totals | 367 | 88 | 78 | 166 | 451 | 75 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 107 | ||||
NHL totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
Awards and honors
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
OHL | ||
Second All-Rookie Team | 2006 | |
Liiga | ||
Rookie of the Year | 2008 | |
AHL | ||
Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) | 2009 | |
KHL | ||
Gagarin Cup (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) | 2014, 2016 | [6] |
References
- "Capitals sign Oskar Osala to three-year entry level contract". Washington Capitals. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- "Caps add Carolina's Joe Corvo, deal Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala". The Washington Post. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- "Russian KHL next for Oskar Osala" (in Swedish). vasabladet.fi. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- "Oskar Osala makes decision to pause career" (in Finnish). iltalehti.fi. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- "Oskar Osala agrees to one-year contract with Oulun" (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- "Magnitogorsk wins 2nd Gagarin Cup in 3 years". rt.com. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database