Phil Oreskovic (''pronounced Or-esh-ko-vich''; born January 26, 1987) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

Playing career

As a youth, Oreskovic played in the 2001

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 the Toronto Marlboros

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team. Oreskovic was drafted 82nd overall in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

by 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 ...

. Phil played in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

with the

Brampton Battalion The Brampton Battalion were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team was based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and started playing in 1998. As a result of consistently having among the lowest attendance in the OHL (last place ...

and the

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J.D. M ...

before turning professional at the end of the 2006–07 season with the Toronto Marlies of 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. On June 1, 2007, Oreskovic was signed by the Maple Leafs to a three-year entry level contract. He then started out the 2007–08 season with Columbia Inferno of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

before making his way up to the Leafs main affiliate the Marlies. Oreskovic started the 2008–09 season with the Marlies before being recalled by the Maple Leafs on March 9, 2009. Phil made his NHL debut with the Leafs on the same day, a 3-2 loss to 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 ...

, and became the 400th

player to reach the NHL. On March 24, 2009, Oreskovic scored his first NHL goal against José Théodore of 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 (NHL) ...

in a 3-2 victory. He spent the 2009–10 season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies playing a career high 74 games, while scoring 2 goals and getting 7 assists. In the 2010 offseason, Oreskovic was not offered a contract extension by the

, thus being acquired as a free agent by the

. He signed a professional tryout contract (PTO) in September 2010 and is currently playing for the Capitals' AHL affiliate

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

. Upon joining the Bears organization, Bears forward Johann Kroll was already wearing the uniform #4 and then goaltender Semyon Varlamov was already wearing the uniform #40 (at the time), therefore Oreskovic chose to wear the uniform #32. Oreskovic wore the uniform #4 with the

, Columbia Inferno and the Toronto Marlies, and wore the uniform #40 with the

. On August 6, 2013, Oreskovic re-signed to a one-year contract for a second season with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye but would leave the team after ten games into the season. After a season abroad in the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

, Oreskovic returned to Canada, signing a one-year contract with the Brampton Beast of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

on September 4, 2014 (the CHL joined the ECHL in October). He was injured early in the 2014–15 season and would retire before the end of the season. He later joined the Beast as an assistant coach before resigning at the end of the season.

Personal

Oreskovic is a Croatian Canadian. Phil's father was born in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and emigrated to Canada in 1962 and he fluently speaks Croatian.Maple Leafs Hot Stove
Getting to Know You: Phil Oreskovic

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oreskovic, Phil 1987 births Brampton Battalion players Brampton Beast players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Croatian descent Columbia Inferno players Hershey Bears players Living people Nottingham Panthers players Owen Sound Attack players South Carolina Stingrays players Sportspeople from North York Ice hockey people from Toronto Toledo Walleye players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England