Oleg Vladimirovich Kvasha (russian: Олег Владимирович Кваша; born July 26, 1978) is a Russian 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 ...
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
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) 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 ...
,
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
and the
Phoenix Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
.
Oleg was renowned for his blonde flowing locks fluttering from under his helmet as he sped up and down the ice
Playing career
As a youth, Kvasha played in the 1992
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament
The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...
with a team from
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
Kvasha was chosen in the third round, 65th overall, by 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 ...
in the
1996 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Panthers in the
1998–99 season, appearing in 68 games as a rookie for 12 goals and 25 points.
After completing his second season with the Panthers, on June 24, 2000, Kvasha was dealt by Florida to the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
with winger
Mark Parrish
Mark Daniel Parrish (born February 2, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger. Parrish has played 11 seasons and over 700 games in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, ...
for goaltender
Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo (, , ; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is a two ...
and center
Olli Jokinen
Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for th ...
.
After playing with the Islanders for five seasons, Kvasha was traded during the
2005–06 campaign, along with a conditional fifth round draft pick to the
Phoenix Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
for a third round pick in the
2006 NHL Entry Draft on March 9, 2006.
Following his seventh season in the NHL, split between the Islanders and Coyotes, Kvasha ended his North American career in returning to his native Russia, agreeing to terms with
HC Vityaz
Hockey Club Vityaz (, en, HC Knight) is a professional ice hockey team based in Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely k ...
of the then
Russian Superleague
The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...
.
Kvasha played a further 9 years in the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
, appearing with
Traktor Chelyabinsk
Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor (russian: Трактор), is a professional ice hockey team based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ...
,
Atlant Moscow Oblast
Hockey Club Atlant Moscow Oblast (russian: ХК Атлант Московская область, en, Atlas Hockey Club Moscow Region) was a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. They were members of the Bobrov ...
,
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They a ...
,
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (russian: Нефтехимик Нижнекамск, en, Nizhnekamsk Petrochemist) is a professional ice hockey team based in Nizhnekamsk, in the Tatarstan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. They are members ...
,
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
,
Avangard Omsk
Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...
,
HC Spartak Moscow
HC Spartak Moscow (russian: ХК Спартак Москва, en, Spartak Moskva) is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They played in the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2013–14 KHL season, 20 ...
and
Barys Astana
Hockey Club Barys ( kk, Барыс хоккей клубы , translit=Barys Hokkei Kluby), also referred to as Barys Astana or HC Barys, is a professional ice hockey team based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is one of the founding members of the Kon ...
before retiring after his 20th professional season in
2014–15.
International play
Kvasha has represented his native
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
in the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, where he won a bronze medal.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvasha, Oleg
1978 births
Living people
Atlant Moscow Oblast players
Avangard Omsk players
Barys Nur-Sultan players
Beast of New Haven players
HC CSKA Moscow players
Florida Panthers draft picks
Florida Panthers players
Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Metallurg Magnitogorsk players
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players
New York Islanders players
Olympic bronze medalists for Russia
Olympic ice hockey players of Russia
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Phoenix Coyotes players
Russian ice hockey centres
Severstal Cherepovets players
HC Spartak Moscow players
Ice hockey people from Moscow
Traktor Chelyabinsk players
HC Vityaz players
Russian expatriate ice hockey people
Russian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Russian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan
Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Expatriate ice hockey players in Kazakhstan