Otto Koivula

Otto Koivula (born 1 September 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career Koivula began playing within the youth hockey program of Ilves Tampere. After two seasons of Junior A SM-liiga, Koivula secured a two-year Liiga contract with Ilves on 30 March 2016.

Koivula was selected in the fourth round, 120th overall, in the 2016 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders.

After his second full season in the Liiga in 2017–18, Koivula signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders on 21 March 2018.

In his first season in North America, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers developed Koivula to play center, rather than his natural wing position. He responded with a strong season in a new position, scoring 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points in 69 games. He received his first NHL call-up on 30 October 2019. Otto played his first NHL game on 16 November 2019, in Philadelphia against the Flyers.

On 9 October 2020, Koivula was loaned to HIFK due to the delayed start of the North American season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 6 October, he was placed on waivers.

Following the 2023–24 season, Koivula left the Islanders as a pending restricted free agent and returned to Scandinavia in signing a two-year contract with Swedish club, Växjö Lakers of the SHL, on 12 July 2024.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2014–15 Ilves Jr. A 22 4 6 10 12 — — — — — 2015–16 Ilves Jr. A 49 26 32 58 18 7 5 7 12 4 2015–16 Ilves Liiga 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Ilves Liiga 50 10 20 30 6 10 2 3 5 2 2017–18 Ilves Liiga 53 9 18 27 24 — — — — — 2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 69 21 25 46 28 5 0 2 2 0 2019–20 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 36 9 13 22 29 — — — — — 2019–20 New York Islanders NHL 12 0 0 0 2 — — — — —2020–21HIFKLiiga14381110————— 2020–21 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 20 2 7 9 16 — — — — — 2021–22 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 56 12 35 47 32 3 0 1 1 6 2021–22 New York Islanders NHL 8 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2022–23 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 46 12 13 25 37 — — — — — 2022–23 New York Islanders NHL 8 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Bridgeport Islanders AHL 47 9 21 30 52 — — — — — 2024–25 Växjö Lakers SHL 30 5 10 15 14 8 0 3 3 6 Liiga totals 118 22 46 68 40 10 2 3 5 2 NHL totals 28 0 4 4 6 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 0 1 6 2017 Finland WJC 9th 6 0 0 0 0 2018 Finland WJC 6th 5 0 2 2 4 Junior totals 16 1 2 3 10

Awards and honours Award Year Liiga Rookie of the Year 2017