Oskar Osala

Oskar Osala
Born	(1987-12-26) December 26, 1987 Finland
Occupation	Professional ice hockey forward
Years active	2005–2019
Known for	Playing as a winger in NHL and KHL; representing Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Oskar Osala (born 26 December 1987) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey forward who played as a winger. He appeared in three NHL matches representing the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes and competed for Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Playing career

Osala started his ice hockey journey with Sport, a club based in Vaasa, before making his North American debut in 2005 with the Mississauga IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 97th overall by the Washington Capitals.

During the 2007–08 season, Osala returned to Finland to join Espoo Blues in the SM-liiga. That year marked his debut with Finland's senior national team and earned him recognition as the SM-liiga rookie of the year.

In June 2008, Osala inked a three-year deal with the Capitals and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He made his NHL debut on 10 December 2008, participating in two games before returning to Hershey, where he played a key role in securing the Calder Cup championship.

On 3 March 2010, Osala was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes organization. Although he made a brief appearance in the NHL, most of that season was spent with their AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats. With limited opportunities to establish himself in the NHL, he spent the subsequent season playing for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL.

Osala signed a one-year contract on 25 May 2011 with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Midway through his third season in 2013–14, he was traded to Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he contributed six assists during the playoffs, helping the team capture their inaugural Gagarin Cup.

He remained with Metallurg for five seasons, including their second Gagarin Cup triumph in 2015–16, before departing from the KHL following the conclusion of the 2017–18 campaign.

After citing a decline in motivation, Osala chose not to participate at the beginning of the 2018–19 Liiga season while remaining a free agent. On 12 November 2018, he ended his break by agreeing to a one-year contract with Oulun Kärpät competing in Finland’s premier league.

International play

At the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships, Osala tied for the tournament's leading goal scorer by netting five goals across six games for Finland, sharing this distinction with four other players.

Regular season and playoffs

2009–10 NHL seasonCarolina Hurricanes NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2010–11 AHL seasonCharlotte Checkers AHL 59 13 29 42 55 15 3 2 5 29 2011–12 KHL seasonHC Neftekhimik NizhnekamskKontinental Hockey League (KHL) 41 12 7 19 44 — — — — — 2012–13 KHL season Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 44 14 10 24 52 4 0 1 1 17 2013–14 KHL season Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 33 5 12 17 20 — — — — — 2013–14 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 19 5 5 10 31 21 0 6 6 43 2014–15 KHL season Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 55 11 5 16 85 10 1 2 3 4 2015–16 KHL season Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 12 15 27 76 11 3 2 5 8 2016–17 KHL season Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 14 14 28 53 18 6 1 7 29 2017–18 KHL season Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 55 14 9 23 90 11 3 3 6 6 2018–19 Liiga seasonKärpät Liiga 29 15 7 22 24 13 2 1 3 45

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2003–04	Sport	FIN U18		16	10	11	21	10		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Sport	FIN.3 U20		2	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Sport	Mestis		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Sport	FIN U18		2	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Sport	FIN.2 U20		19	13	24	37	28		2	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Sport	Mestis		21	1	4	5	6		7	0	0	0	6
2005–06	Mississauga IceDogs	Ontario Hockey League (OHL)		68	17	26	43	86		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07 OHL season	Mississauga IceDogs	OHL		54	22	22	44	81		5	2	2	4	0
2007–08 SM-liiga season	Espoo Blues	SM-liiga		53	18	17	35	62		17	7	3	10	8
2008–09 AHL season	Hershey Bears	American Hockey League (AHL)		75	23	14	37	47		22	6	4	10	17
2008–09 NHL season	Washington Capitals	National Hockey League (NHL)		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10 AHL season	Hershey Bears	AHL		53	15	14	29	57		—	—	—	—
2009–10	Albany River Rats	AHL		16	10	3	13	11		8	2	1	3
AHL totals !202 !61 !60 !121 !170 !45 !11 !7 !18 !48 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"				NHL totals !3 !0 !0 !0 !0 !— !— !— !— !— |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"			KHL totals !367 !88 !78 !166 !451 !75 !13 !15 !28 !107 | } International Year Team Tournament Placement GP G A Pts PIM 2004 Finland WHC17 6th place 5 1 1 2 6 2005 Finland WJC18 7th place 6 0 0 0 27 2007 Finland WJC 6th place 6 5 3 8 4 2010 Finland WC 6th place 4 0 0 0 2 2017 Finland WC Finished 4th 10 1 2 3 14 2018 Finland OG Ranked 6th 4 0 1 1 0 Junior career totals 17 6 4 10 37 Senior career totals 18 1 3 4 16 Awards and honors Award Title Year Received OHL Second All-Rookie Team Selection 2006 Liiga Rookie of the Year Award 2008 AHL Calder Cup Champion (with Hershey Bears) 2009 KHL Gagarin Cup Winner (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) 2013–14 KHL season, 2015-16 KHL season