Joseph J. Piskula (born July 5, 1984) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
defenseman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
who played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). Piskula ended his playing career serving as an
alternate captain for
HC TPS
TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 10-time champion of SM-liiga and 1-time champion of SM-sarja. They play in Turku, Finland, at Gatorade Center. In terms of championships, TPS is the second all-time most successful team in SM-L ...
in the
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
Liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...
.
Playing career
A native of
Antigo, Wisconsin
Antigo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,100 at the 2020 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactures consist principally of lumber, ...
, of
Croatian ancestry, Piskula played
junior hockey
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...
with the
Chicago Steel
The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League, joining the league in 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in Bense ...
and
Des Moines Buccaneers
The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season.
History
The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...
of the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...
(USHL).
He was recruited to play with the
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...
hockey program, and was a member of the team for three seasons between 2004 and 2007. He appeared in 112 games for the Badgers and was given the Otto Breitenbach Award as the team's most improved player in 2005–06. An undrafted player, Piskula chose to forgo his senior year of eligibility by signing as a free agent with the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
on March 21, 2007. He made his NHL debut two nights later, against the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
, and played in five games with Los Angeles at the end of the
2006–07 NHL season.
Piskula spent the following three seasons playing in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) with the Kings' affiliate, the
Manchester Monarchs. He appeared in 189 games over that time, scoring 2 goals and 29 assists.
As a free agent in 2010, he was offered a try-out with the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
, but ultimately signed a contract with the AHL's
Abbotsford Heat
The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...
. His play in Abbotsford during the
2010–11 season impressed the Heat's parent club, leading the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
to sign him to an NHL two-way contract on July 1, 2011. He spent the majority of the season with Abbotsford, but earned a recall to Calgary on December 1, 2011. He appeared in five games with the Flames before being returned to Abbotsford.
During the
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season whilst with the Abbotsford Heat, Piskula was traded by the Flames to the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...
in exchange for
Brian McGrattan
Brian McGrattan (born September 2, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current member of the Calgary Flames player development staff. McGrattan was a fourth-round selection of the Los Angeles Kings (104th overall) at ...
on February 28, 2013 and was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. On October 9, 2014, Piskula was named
Captain of the Milwaukee Admirals.
On July 1, 2015, Piskula joined his fourth organization as a free agent in signing a one-year, two-way contract with the
Anaheim Ducks. Primarily added to add depth to the Ducks, Piskula was reassigned and named the captain of the
San Diego Gulls
The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...
of the AHL. During the
2015–16 season, Piskula was recalled to the Ducks for 1 game but ended up being a healthy scratch.
As a free agent from the Ducks, Piskula opted to pursue a career abroad, signing a one-year deal with Swedish club, Leksands IF of the SHL on September 13, 2016.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piskula, Joe
1984 births
Living people
Abbotsford Heat players
American men's ice hockey defensemen
American people of Croatian descent
Calgary Flames players
Chicago Steel players
Des Moines Buccaneers players
Ice hockey players from Wisconsin
Ilves players
Leksands IF players
Los Angeles Kings players
Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players
Milwaukee Admirals players
Nashville Predators players
People from Antigo, Wisconsin
San Diego Gulls (AHL) players
HC TPS players
Undrafted National Hockey League players
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players