Oliwer Kaski (born 4 September 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Prior to turning professional, Kaski became the first Finnish-born player to play for the Western Michigan Broncos. His father Olli was also a professional ice hockey player for fifteen years, eleven of them with the Liiga's Ässät.[1] He has been part of the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes organizations.
| Oliwer Kaski | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
4 September 1995 Pori, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| SHL team Former teams |
HV71 HIFK Lahti Pelicans Grand Rapids Griffins Charlotte Checkers Avangard Omsk HC Lugano | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Playing career
editKaski played for Western Michigan University for two seasons, becoming the first player born in Finland to play for Western Michigan.[2][3] In November 2016, his sophomore year at Western Michigan, Kaski signed with HIFK of the Finnish Elite League (Liiga).[3] After playing parts of two seasons with HIFK, Kaski signed with the Lahti Pelicans in April 2018.[4]
During the 2018–19 season, Kaski had a breakout year. He recorded 19 goals and 32 assists in 59 games, leading the Pelicans in scoring. Kaski was awarded the Lasse Oksanen trophy as the league's best player.
On 28 May 2019, Kaski signed as an undrafted free agent to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[5]
After attending the Red Wings training camp, Kaski was assigned to begin the 2019–20 season with AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In his first North American professional season, Kaski contributed with 2 goals and 5 points through 19 games before on 12 December 2019, Kaski was traded by the Red Wings to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Kyle Wood.[6] Kaski found his scoring touch with AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, registering 11 goals in just 35 games from the blueline.
As an impending restricted free agent with the Hurricanes, Kaski opted to leave North America in agreeing to a one-year contract with Russian club, Avangard Omsk of the KHL on 18 June 2020.[7]
In March 2022, Kaski left Avangard Omsk during playoffs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8][9]
As a free agent, Kaski moved to Switzerland in the off-season, signing a two-year contract with Swiss club, HC Lugano of the National League (NL) on 25 May 2022.[10] In the 2022–23 season, Kaski struggled to adapt with Lugano, registering just 4 assists through 20 games. On 13 December 2022, Kaski opted to leave Switzerland to immediately join HV71 of the SHL on a two-year deal.[11]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Ässät | Jr. A | 37 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Ässät | Jr. A | 48 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Western Michigan University | NCHC | 31 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Western Michigan University | NCHC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | HIFK | Liiga | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | HIFK | Jr. A | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Kiekko-Vantaa | Mestis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | HIFK | Liiga | 49 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 59 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 35 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 58 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 14 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 47 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | HC Lugano | NL | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | HV71 | SHL | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | HV71 | SHL | 39 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 144 | 30 | 43 | 73 | 20 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 0 | ||||
| KHL totals | 105 | 26 | 41 | 67 | 26 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2019 Slovakia | |
 |
2021 Latvia | |
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Finland | WC | 
|
10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2021 | Finland | WC | 
|
10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Finland | WC | 8th | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 28 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 6 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Juha Rantasila Trophy | 2019 | |
| Lasse Oksanen Trophy | 2019 | [12] |
| KHL | ||
| Gagarin Cup (Avangard Omsk) | 2021 | [13] |
References
edit- ^ "Leijonien uuden tähtipelaajan ura alkoi hankalasti ja välillä päätä silittivät vain isä ja äiti: " Se oli erittäin hankala tilanne, kun en voinut sanoa yhtään mitään"". hs.fi (in Finnish). 11 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "2015-16 WMU HOCKEY RECORD BOOK" (PDF). nmnathletics.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Oliwer Kaski Signs With HIFK". wmubroncos.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ Kauppinen, Juuso (9 April 2018). "Oliwer Kaski: "Lahdesta oli kova kiinnostus minua kohtaan"" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "Red Wings add free agent defenseman Oliwer Kaski". Detroit Red Wings. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Kujawa, Kyle (12 December 2019). "Red Wings acquire defenseman Kyle Wood from Carolina". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Avangard sign World Champion Oliwer Kaski" (in Russian). Avangard Omsk. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Suomalaiskiekkoilijoiden joukkopako KHL:stä jatkuu – lähde: Pokka ja Kaski jättävät seuransa, myös Tuohimaa pois Venäjältä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Ville Pokka and Oliwer Kaski leave Avangard". Avangard Omsk. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Oliwer Kaski signs with Lugano" (in Italian). HC Lugano. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Finnish national team defender Oliwer Kaski signs for HV71" (in Swedish). HV71. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ "The rise of Oliwer Kaski; from unknown rookie to Lasse Oksanen Trophy" (in Finnish). iltalehti.fi. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ^ "Avangard is crowned 2021 Gagarin Cup Champions" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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