Krzysztof Oliwa
Krzysztof Artur Oliwa (pronounced [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf ˈartur ɔˈliva]; born April 12, 1973) is a Polish former professional ice hockey player. He played as a left winger in the National Hockey League. To date, he is the only player from Poland to have won a Stanley Cup.
| Krzysztof Oliwa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 12, 1973 Tychy, Poland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||
| Weight | 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
GKS Katowice GKS Tychy New Jersey Devils Columbus Blue Jackets Pittsburgh Penguins New York Rangers Boston Bruins Calgary Flames New Jersey Devils Podhale Nowy Targ | ||
| National team |
 Poland | ||
| NHL Draft |
65th overall, 1993 New Jersey Devils | ||
| Playing career | 1993–2006 | ||
Playing career
Nicknamed "The Polish Hammer" and from the GKS Tychy youth system, Krzysztof Oliwa was drafted 65th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. An intimidating, physical player, he normally played the role of an enforcer and won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000. Injuries prevented Oliwa from participating in the 2000 playoffs. However, Oliwa played enough regular season games to qualify to have his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup.
Oliwa later played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames. He signed with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent after the 2003–04 season. During the 2005–06 season, Oliwa was waived by the Devils and demoted to the minor league team in Albany. However, he chose not to report. He retired at the end of the 2005–06 season, taking the coaching reins of the Polish National Hockey Program.
Coaching career
In 2014, Oliwa became the head coach of Kalkaska Rhinos Junior Hockey Team, but has since quit.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | GKS Katowice | POL | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | GKS Tychy | POL | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Welland Flames | GHJHL | 30 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 127 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 33 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 151 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Raleigh IceCaps | ECHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | ||
| 1994–95 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Raleigh IceCaps | ECHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 51 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 217 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Raleigh IceCaps | ECHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 60 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 322 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 49 | ||
| 1997–98 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 73 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 295 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | ||
| 1998–99 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 64 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 240 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 69 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 184 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 26 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 131 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 2001–02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 57 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 150 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 65 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 247 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Podhale Nowy Targ | POL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2005–06 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 410 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 1447 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 47 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup (New Jersey Devils) | 2000 | |
Transactions
- June 12, 2000 – Traded to Columbus by New Jersey with future considerations (Deron Quint, June 23, 2000) for Columbus' 3rd round choice (Brandon Nolan) in 2001 Entry Draft and future considerations (Turner Stevenson, June 23, 2000).
- January 14, 2001 – Traded to Pittsburgh by Columbus for San Jose's 3rd round choice (previously acquired, Columbus selected Aaron Johnson) in 2001 Entry Draft.
- June 23, 2002 – Traded to NY Rangers by Pittsburgh for NY Rangers' 9th round choice (later traded to Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay selected Albert Vishnyakov) in 2003 Entry Draft.
- January 6, 2003 – Traded to Boston by NY Rangers for Boston's 9th round choice (later traded to San Jose - San Jose selected Brian Mahoney-Wilson) in 2004 Entry Draft.
- July 30, 2003 – Signed as a free agent by Calgary.
- July 15, 2004 – Signed as a free agent by New Jersey.
- October 1, 2004 – Signed as a free agent by Nowy Targ (Poland).
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- VIDEO Fights Oliwa