Kyle Okposo

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Position	Wing/Center
Shoots	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg/13 st 13 lb)
NHL Team	New York Islanders
Nationality	United States
Born	April 16, 1988 (1988-04-16) (age 20), St. Paul, MN, USA
NHL Draft	7th overall, 2006 New York Islanders
Pro career	2008 – present

Kyle Okposo (born April 16, 1988 in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.) is an American ice hockey right winger. He was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, following a season in the United States Hockey League with the Des Moines Buccaneers in which he was named the most valuable player of the USHL playoffs and the league's top rookie. He helped the Buccaneers to a Clark Cup victory.

[edit] Playing career

Like Jarome Iginla, Okposo was born to a Nigerian father and a Caucasian mother. His father immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, and eventually earned his Ph.D. His family currently resides in Minnesota, where Okposo grew up.

During his freshman season at University of Minnesota Okposo was placed at the center position, even though he is a natural winger. Throughout most of the season this became his most common position due to the abundance of wingers on the team.

In January 2007, he played for the U.S. National Junior Team in the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. On 7 June 2007 Okposo announced he would be returning to the University of Minnesota for the 2007–08 season. Okposo played the 2007–08 season for the University of Minnesota ice hockey team until December 19, 2007. On that morning Okposo notified his teammates at the university of his decision to leave the team. Soon after, both the Gophers and the New York Islanders announced officially that Okposo decided to leave college after the completion of his current semester and would then begin his professional hockey career.

Okposo's decision to leave school was considered controversial by some. As a response to questioning, Islanders general manager Garth Snow told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Quite frankly, we weren't happy with the program. They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that."^[1]

Lucia then claimed that the Islanders put him "in a very difficult position." ^[2] In his response to Snow's comments, Lucia emphasized the importance of obtaining a degree, "We have had numerous players sign and play in the NHL, but just as important many more move on to have successful careers after graduating from the University of Minnesota. We have always and will continue to work to ensure our players reach their potential on the ice and in the classroom."^[3]

Okposo signed an entry level contract with the Islanders and was assigned to their top minor league affiliate, the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He made his NHL debut on March 18, 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and netted his first career NHL goal on March 21, 2008 against the New Jersey Devils, a game winner scored on the powerplay against Martin Brodeur.^[4]

[edit] Awards

• USHL Rookie of the Year - 2006
• USHL Clark Cup Playoffs MVP - 2006
• USHL First All-Star Team - 2006
• USHL All-Rookie Team - 2006

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] External links

• Kyle Okposo's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

[edit] References