Michael Christopher Kostka (born November 28, 1985) is a Canadian 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

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).

Playing career

After playing four seasons at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, he was signed to a professional contract by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

of the

on March 25, 2008. He was assigned to the organization's

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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate (at the time), the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. In his second professional season he moved with the Sabres to their new AHL affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

. Kostka returned to the Rochester Americans, now the

Florida Panther The Florida panther is a North American cougar (''P. c. couguar'') population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed freshwater swamp forests. It is known under a number of common names including Costa R ...

affiliate for the

2010–11 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 on August 24, 2010. On June 30, 2011, Kostka signed a two-way contract with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

and was assigned again to the Americans. On December 2, 2011, Kostka was traded by the Panthers, along with

Evan Oberg Evan Oberg (born February 16, 1988) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played 7 games in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning between 2010 and 2012. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2 ...

, to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

for James Wright and

Mike Vernace Michael Vernace (born May 26, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Vernace grew up ...

. Kostka joined the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

and was a part of their

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championship. On July 1, 2012, Kostka was signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. Kostka got his first NHL point in his debut NHL game against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on January 19, 2013. Kostka split the season with the Maple Leafs and their AHL affiliate, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. On July 19, 2013, Kostka signed as a free agent to a one-year, two way contract with the defending Stanley Cup champions, 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 ...

. He then scored his first NHL goal against the Leafs on October 19, 2013, against

Jonathan Bernier Jonathan Bernier (born August 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 11th overall, of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angel ...

. After only nine games with the Blackhawks and approaching the last quarter of the season, on February 23, 2014, Kostka was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kostka finished the season with the Lightning. Kostka left as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with the

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 ...

on July 1, 2014. He spent most of the season with the Rangers' AHL affiliate

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

. On July 1, 2015, Kostka signed a one-year, two-way 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 ...

. Kostka was assigned to the Senators' AHL affiliate

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

. Kostka made his Ottawa debut on March 6, 2016. In the 2016–17 season, while in his second season with the Binghamton Senators, Kostka was included in a trade deadline deal by the Senators along with

Curtis Lazar Curtis Lazar (born February 2, 1995) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round (17th ...

to 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 ...

in exchange for

Jyrki Jokipakka Jyrki Jokipakka ( , born 20 August 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is under contract to Ilves of the Liiga. He was selected by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round (195th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Playing c ...

and a conditional second-round pick in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. As a free agent in the off-season, Kostka opted to sign his first professional contract abroad in agreeing to a try-out with Swedish top tier club, Skellefteå AIK of the SHL on September 1, 2017.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kostka, Mike 1985 births Living people Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Ontario New York Rangers players Norfolk Admirals players Ottawa Senators players People from Ajax, Ontario Portland Pirates players Rochester Americans players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players San Antonio Rampage players Skellefteå AIK players Stockton Heat players Tampa Bay Lightning players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players UMass Minutemen ice hockey players Undrafted National Hockey League players University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden