Krzysztof Oliwa
| Krzysztof Oliwa | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 12, 1973 Tychy, POL |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | New Jersey Devils (1996–2000) Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–2001) Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–2002) New York Rangers (2002–2003) Boston Bruins (2003) Calgary Flames (2003–2004) New Jersey Devils (2005) |
| 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 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. He 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 reins of the Polish National Hockey Program.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | Raleigh Icecaps | ECHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | ||
| 1993–94 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 33 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 151 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Raleigh Icecaps | ECHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Raleigh Icecaps | ECHL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 51 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 217 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 60 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 322 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 49 | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 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 | Poland | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2005–06 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 410 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 1452 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 47 | ||||