Oskar Osala

Oskar Osala (born 26 December 1987) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played in three National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes and represented Finland in Olympic Winter Games 2018.

Playing career He started his career with Vaasa-based Sport. He made his North American debut with the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs in 2005, and was drafted 97th overall in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL entry draft by the Washington Capitals.

In the 2007–08 season, he returned to Finland where he played for the Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga; made his debut with the senior national team; and was named SM-liiga rookie of the year.

Osala signed a three-year contract with the Capitals in June 2008, and was assigned to Washington's AHL affiliate in Hershey. On 10 December 2008, Osala made his NHL debut replacing the injured Tomáš Fleischmann in the Caps' 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins, playing two games before being returned to the Bears. Osala finished the season with the Hershey Bears' Calder Cup winning team, scoring two goals in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.

On 3 March 2010, Osala was traded with Brian Pothier to the Carolina Hurricanes for Joe Corvo. Osala made a brief NHL appearance with Carolina shortly after the trade, but spent most of the remainder of the season with the Albany River Rats.

Unable to find a role with the Hurricanes and subsequently assigned to AHL affiliate the Charlotte Checkers for the duration of the following season, Osala signed a one-year contract with Russian team Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on 25 May 2011.

On 10 December 2013, during the 2013–14, his third with Neftekhimik, Osala was traded to division competitors Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He contributed 6 assists in the post-season to help Metallurg claim their first Gagarin Cup.

Osala played 5 seasons with Metallurg, which won a second Gagarin Cup in the 2015–16 campaign, before opting to leave the KHL following the 2017–18 season.

Citing a lack of drive, Osala sat out the beginning of the 2018–19 season as a free agent. On 12 November 2018, Osala opted to end his hiatus and agreed to a one-year contract for the remainder of the season in returning to his homeland with Oulun Kärpät of the top flight Liiga.

International play Osala shared the goal scoring title in 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships. Osala scored five goals in six games for Finland, sharing the lead with four other players.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs 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 OHL 68 17 26 43 86 — — — — — 2006–07 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 54 22 22 44 81 5 2 2 4 0 2007–08 Blues SM-liiga 53 18 17 35 62 17 7 3 10 8 2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL 75 23 14 37 47 22 6 4 10 17 2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2009–10 Hershey Bears AHL 53 15 14 29 57 — — — — — 2009–10 Albany River Rats AHL 16 10 3 13 11 8 2 1 3 2 2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2010–11 Charlotte Checkers AHL 59 13 29 42 55 15 3 2 5 29 2011–12 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 41 12 7 19 44 — — — — — 2012–13 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 44 14 10 24 52 4 0 1 1 17 2013–14 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 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 55 11 5 16 85 10 1 2 3 4 2015–16 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 12 15 27 76 11 3 2 5 8 2016–17 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 14 14 28 53 18 6 1 7 29 2017–18 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 55 14 9 23 90 11 3 3 6 6 2018–19 Kärpät Liiga 29 15 7 22 24 13 2 1 3 45 AHL totals 202 61 60 121 170 45 11 7 18 48 NHL totals 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — KHL totals 367 88 78 166 451 75 13 15 28 107

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2004 Finland WHC17 6th 5 1 1 2 6 2005 Finland WJC18 7th 6 0 0 0 27 2007 Finland WJC 6th 6 5 3 8 4 2010 Finland WC 6th 4 0 0 0 2 2017 Finland WC 4th 10 1 2 3 14 2018 Finland OG 6th 4 0 1 1 0 Junior totals 17 6 4 10 37 Senior totals 18 1 3 4 16

Awards and honors Award Year OHL Second All-Rookie Team 2006 Liiga Rookie of the Year 2008 AHL Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) 2009 KHL Gagarin Cup (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) 2014, 2016