Krzysztof Oliwa

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Krzysztof Oliwa
Born (1973-04-12) April 12, 1973 (age 48)
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

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.

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, making him the first player born and exclusively trained in Poland to have this honor.

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 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

International[]

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1991 Poland EJC 5 0 2 2 6
1992 Poland WJC B 6 1 1 2 14
2002 Poland WC 6 1 2 3 22
2005 Poland OGQ 6 1 1 2 34
Junior totals 11 1 2 3 20
Senior totals 12 2 3 5 56

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup champion (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[]

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