Nathan Oystrick

Nathan Oystrick (born December 17, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played parts of 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks, and St. Louis Blues. Outside of the NHL, Oystrick played for Lev Praha of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Career
Before playing in the NHL, Oystrick played parts of one season with the Notre Dame Hounds of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), two years with the South Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), and four years with the Northern Michigan Wildcats of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

He was drafted 198th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2002 NHL entry draft. He was immediately sent down to play for their AHL-affiliate Chicago Wolves. On October 14, 2008, the Thrashers called him up and Oystrick made his NHL debut in a 4–2 loss against the Minnesota Wild. On November 25, he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Todd White goal in a 6–3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The next day on November 26, Oystrick scored his first NHL goal against José Théodore in a 5–3 loss against the Washington Capitals. 

On March 1, 2010, the Thrashers traded Oystrick and a 2011 conditional draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Evgeny Artyukhin. On June 30, the Ducks bought out the rest of Oystrick's contract after only 3 games with the team and he became a free agent.

On July 11, 2010, Oystrick signed a one-year, $600,000 contract to join the St. Louis Blues. He scored 2 goal and recorded 2 assists for 3 points in 9 games. The Blues then sent him down to play for their AHL-affiliate Peoria Rivermen.

On July 6, 2011, Oystrick signed a one-year, $600,000 contract to join the Phoenix Coyotes. He never played a game for the Coyotes and played his time with their AHL-affiliate Portland Pirates.

On June 2, 2012, Oystrick decided to leave North America after signing a one-year contract to play for Lev Praha of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He played parts of two seasons with Lev.

On November 13, 2014, he returned to North America after signing a professional try-out contract with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played 12 games with the Falcons, scoring 1 goal and recording 3 assists.

On July 9, 2015, Oystrick signed a one-year contract to join the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL as both a player and assistant coach. He played 48 games with the Jackals, scoring 3 goals and recording 15 assists for 18 points. He decided to retire from playing professional ice hocket at the end of the season.

Coaching
On July 30, 2016, Oystrick signed a contract to become an assistant coach for the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.

On July 3, 2018, Oystrick signed a contract to become the new head coach and general manager of the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). He took over for Darcy Haugan who was one of the 16 people killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. On December 28, 2018, Oystrick unexpectedly announced that he was resigning from head coach and general manager of the Broncos. 

References

 Other websites 

Category:1982 births
Category:Living people
Category:Anaheim Ducks players
Category:Atlanta Thrashers players
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Chicago Wolves players
Category:Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
Category:Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players
Category:Portland Pirates players
Category:Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan
Category:Springfield Falcons players
Category:St. Louis Blues players