Krzysztof Artur Oliwa (pronounced ; born April 12, 1973) is a Polish 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 hock ...

player. He played as a left winger 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 ...

. To date, he is the only player from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to have won a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Playing career

Nicknamed "The Polish Hammer" and from the

GKS Tychy GKS Tychy is a Polish professional football club, based in Tychy, Poland, that plays in the Polish I Liga. The club was founded on 20 April 1971. It played in the Ekstraklasa between 1974–1977. The biggest success of GKS Tychy was the 2nd pla ...

youth system, Krzysztof Oliwa was drafted 65th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. An intimidating, physical player, he normally played the role of an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

and won the

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

to have this honor. Oliwa later played for the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He signed with the

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

International

Awards and honors

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 Brandon Nolan (born July 18, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who is a member of the Ojibway group of Indigenous Peoples from the Garden River First Nations in Northern Ontario. He last played for the Carolina Hurricanes ...

) 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 is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

- 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

*
VIDEO Fights Oliwa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliwa, Krzysztof 1973 births Albany River Rats players Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames players Columbus Blue Jackets players Detroit Vipers players GKS Tychy (ice hockey) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Living people New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players People from Tychy Pittsburgh Penguins players Podhale Nowy Targ players Polish ice hockey left wingers Raleigh IceCaps players Saint John Flames players Sportspeople from Silesian Voivodeship Stanley Cup champions