David Johnny Oduya (born 1 October 1981), is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
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 ...
defenceman
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). He is of
Kenyan Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
*** Luoland, th ...
descent on his father's side. Oduya is a two-time
Stanley Cup champion with 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 ...
in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
and
2015.
Playing career
Early career
Oduya's first club was
Hammarby IF, where he played as a junior. In 2000, at the age of 19, he moved to North America to play in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...
(QMJHL). He spent one season in North America, splitting time between the
Victoriaville Tigres
The Victoriaville Tigres are a junior ice hockey team that plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. The team plays its home games at the Colisée Desjardins.
History
The franchise was gra ...
and
Moncton Wildcats
The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, known as the Moncton Alpines for one season, and as the Wildca ...
. After moving back to Sweden, he played two seasons with Hammarby in
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen team ...
before signing a contract with
Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm.
Name
The club is name ...
in the Swedish
Elitserien. During the two seasons he spent with the team, he was known as an aggressive defenceman and an enforcer. At times, he fought with opposition players and registered high penalties in minutes numbers. Despite this, he was also a dependable player and played regularly in the
Swedish national team during the
Euro Hockey Tour
The Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) is an annual ice hockey tournament open to only the national men's teams of Czechia, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. Most of the teams use the competition as a preparation for the upcoming World Championships or Olym ...
. In the 2005–06 season, after he had been dismissed by the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
, the NHL organization that drafted him 221st overall in
2001, he moved to another Swedish team,
Frölunda HC. With Frölunda, he played as a more offensive defenceman, scoring eight goals and 11 assists.
New Jersey Devils
The following season,
2006–07, Oduya signed with the
New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Although expected by many to be a depth player with the Devils, when several of the team's defenders were injured, Oduya earned a spot in the lineup. He played surprisingly well in the NHL, periodically registering nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game. He played in 76 Devils games that season, only missing eight due to a mid-season injury. However, in the
2007 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then t ...
, he was not dressed for New Jersey when the Devils were defeated in the second round, largely due to the impressive play of rookie defenceman
Andy Greene
Andrew Greene (born October 30, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), primarily for the New Jersey Devils, with whom he served as team captain.
Playing ...
. After several successful NHL seasons, Oduya was named to the Swedish roster for the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...
in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
, Canada.
Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets
On 4 February 2010, he was traded to the
Atlanta Thrashers, along with
Niclas Bergfors
Niclas Bergfors (born 7 March 1987) is a Sweden, Swedish professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger currently playing for Djurgårdens IF Hockey, Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted by the National H ...
,
Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick in
2010, in exchange for
Ilya Kovalchuk
Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (russian: Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук; born 15 April 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey winger. He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montrea ...
and
Anssi Salmela
Anssi Salmela (born 13 August 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with EHC Biel of the National League (NL).
Playing career
Undrafted, Salmela's professional career started in the 2003–04 season wit ...
. Oduya skated for the team during its inaugural season after moving to
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
to become the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
.
Chicago Blackhawks
On 27 February 2012, Oduya was traded to 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 ...
for a second- and third-round pick in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
.
In October 2012, during the
2012–13 NHL lockout
The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barg ...
, Oduya traveled to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, to play for the local Flying Farangs team in the 18th Annual "Land of Smiles" Hockey tournament. He carried his team to the championship against Abu-Dhabi, and helped bring home Bangkok's first title in tournament history.
In June 2013, Oduya won his first
Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
in six games in the
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Oduya assisted on the Cup winning goal scored by
Dave Bolland
David D. Bolland (born June 5, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.
Bolland was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. While playing junior hockey in the Ontario ...
. Oduya's shot came from the left point and deflected off the stick of
Michael Frolík
Michael Frolík (; born 17 February 1988) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec in the Czech Extraliga.
Frolík has played in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, the organization ...
. Bolland, in position in front of the Boston goal, pushed the deflected shot past Bruins goaltender
Tuukka Rask
Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston Bruins in 2006, where he played ...
to give the Blackhawks their second Stanley Cup in four years.
On 15 June 2015, at the United Center in Chicago, Oduya won his second Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks over the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. It was the Blackhawks' third Stanley Cup in six years.
Dallas Stars
After four seasons with the Blackhawks, Oduya left as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...
on 15 July 2015. Blackhawks teammate
Patrick Sharp
Patrick Sharp (born December 27, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars. After his retirement as a pla ...
also joined the Stars a few weeks earlier via trade.
Later years: Second stint in Chicago, Ottawa and Philadelphia
In the final year of his contract with the Stars in the
2016–17 season, Oduya was traded back to Chicago in exchange for
Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth-round draft pick on 28 February 2017. He played out the season with the Blackhawks appearing in 15 regular season games for 1 goal and 1 assist.
As a free agent, having left the Blackhawks for a second time, Oduya agreed to a one-year bonus-ladened contract with the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
on 24 July 2017. After being placed on waivers by the Senators, Oduya was claimed by 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 ...
on 26 February 2018. After playing in only one game as a Flyer on 4 March, he was pulled out of the lineup with a lower body injury on 10 March. He did not play another game with the Flyers before his contract expired.
Personal life
Oduya is the son of a Kenyan father and a Swedish mother. He is the younger brother of the late
Fredrik Oduya, a former NHL draftee who was an enforcer in the minor leagues.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honors
See also
*
List of ice hockey players of black African descent
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oduya, Johnny
1981 births
Living people
Atlanta Thrashers players
Chicago Blackhawks players
Dallas Stars players
Djurgårdens IF Hockey players
Frölunda HC players
Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players
Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Black ice hockey players
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Moncton Wildcats players
New Jersey Devils players
Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Olympic silver medalists for Sweden
Ottawa Senators players
Philadelphia Flyers players
Ice hockey people from Stockholm
Stanley Cup champions
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Swedish ice hockey defencemen
Swedish people of Kenyan descent
Swedish sportspeople of African descent
European sportspeople of Kenyan descent
Swedish people of Luo descent
Victoriaville Tigres players
Washington Capitals draft picks
Winnipeg Jets players