Johnny Oduya

**Johnny Oduya** (born David Johnny Oduya on October 1, 1981 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Johnny was drafted in the 7th round (221st overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Johnny's first club was Hammarby IF, where he played as a junior. In 2000, at the age of 19, he moved to North America to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He spent one season in North America, splitting time between the Victoriaville Tigres and Moncton Wildcats.

After moving back to Sweden, he played two seasons with Hammarby in HockeyAllsvenskan before signing a contract with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Elitserien. During the two seasons Johnny spent with the team, he was known as an aggressive defenceman and an enforcer. At times, he fought with opposition players and registered high penalties in minutes numbers.

Despite this, Johnny was also a dependable player and played regularly in the Swedish national team during the Euro Hockey Tour. In the 2005–06 season, after he had been dismissed by the Washington Capitals, the NHL organization that drafted him 221st overall in 2001, he moved to another Swedish team, Frölunda HC. With Frölunda, he played as a more offensive defenceman, scoring eight goals and 11 assists.

### Professional

In the 2006-07 season, Johnny signed with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Although expected by many to be a depth player with the Devils, when several of the team's defenders were injured, he earned a spot in the lineup. He played surprisingly well in the NHL, periodically registering nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.

Johnny played in 76 Devils games that season, only missing eight due to a mid-season injur; however, in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was not dressed for New Jersey when the Devils were defeated in the second round, largely due to the impressive play of rookie defenceman Andy Greene.

After several successful NHL seasons, he was named to the Swedish roster for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

On February 4, 2010, he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers (along with Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick in 2010) in exchange for Ilya Kovalchuk and Anssi Salmela. He skated for the team during its inaugural season after moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba to become the Winnipeg Jets.

On February 27, 2012, Johnny was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a second- and third-round pick in 2013. In October 2012 (during the 2012–13 NHL lockout), he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to play for the local Flying Farangs team in the 18th Annual "Land of Smiles" Hockey tournament. He carried his team to the championship against Abu-Dhabi, and helped bring home Bangkok's first title in tournament history.

In June 2013, Johnny won his first Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the Boston Bruins in six games in the Finals.

In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, he assisted on the Cup winning goal scored by Dave Bolland. Oduya's shot came from the left point and deflected off the stick of Michael Frolík. Bolland, in position in front of the Boston goal, pushed the deflected shot past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask to give the Blackhawks their second Stanley Cup in four years.

On June 15, 2015, he won his second Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks over the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. It was the Blackhawks' third Stanley Cup in six years.

After four seasons with the Blackhawks, Johnny left as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars on July 15, 2015. His Blackhawks teammate Patrick Sharp also joined the Stars a few weeks earlier via trade.

In the final year of his contract with the Stars in the 2016–17 season, he was traded back to Chicago in exchange for Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth-round draft pick on February 28, 2017. He played out the season with the Blackhawks appearing in 15 regular season games for 1 goal and 1 assist.

As a free agent (having left the Blackhawks for a second time), Johnny agreed to a one-year bonus-ladened contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 24, 2017. After being placed on waivers by the Senators, he was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers on February 26, 2018.

After playing in only one game as a Flyer on March 4, 2018, Johnny was pulled out of the lineup with a lower body injury on March 10, 2018. He did not play another game with the Flyers before his contract expired.

## Personal Life

Johnny is of Kenyan Luo descent on his father's side and Swedish on his mother's side. His older brother, Frederik Oduya was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 6th round (154th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and was an enforcer in the minor leagues; he died in a motorcycle accident in 2011.