Otto Koivula
| Otto Koivula | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
1 September 1998 Nokia, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| SHL team Former teams |
Växjö Lakers Ilves New York Islanders HIFK | ||
| NHL draft |
120th overall, 2016 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
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
[edit]Koivula began playing within the youth hockey program of Ilves Tampere.[1] After two seasons of Junior A SM-liiga, Koivula secured a two-year Liiga contract with Ilves on 30 March 2016.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[4] On 20 September 2021, Koivula was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Islanders.[5][6] On 6 October, he was placed on waivers.[citation needed]
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.[7]
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HIFK | Liiga | 14 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 118 | 22 | 46 | 68 | 40 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 28 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
[edit]| 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
[edit]| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Rookie of the Year | 2017 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "Otto Koivula player profile". Liiga. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Ilves sign junior Otto Koivula" (in Finnish). Ilves Tampere. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ "Koivula agrees to entry-level deal". New York Islanders. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Isles Day to Day: Koivula Loaned to HIFK-Hockey Ab". NHL.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ "Islanders Sign Five Players". NHL.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Islanders add Andreoff, LaDue; re-sign Timashov, Bardreau, Koivula". CTPost.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Welcome to Växjö Lakers, Otto Koivula" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Finnish ice hockey winger is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Bridgeport Islanders players
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers players
- Finnish ice hockey forwards
- HIFK (ice hockey) players
- Ilves players
- New York Islanders draft picks
- New York Islanders players
- People from Nokia, Finland
- Ice hockey people from Pirkanmaa
- Växjö Lakers players
- Finnish ice hockey winger stubs