Kyle Okposo

Kyle Okposo
Born	April 16, 1988 (1988-04-16) (age 23) St. Paul, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	New York Islanders
National team	United States
NHL Draft	7th overall, 2006 New York Islanders
Playing career	2007–present

Kyle Henry Erovre Okposo (born April 16, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey right winger, an alternate captain of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, following a season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Des Moines Buccaneers in which he was named the most valuable player of the USHL playoffs and the league's top rookie. He helped the Buccaneers to a Clark Cup victory.

Playing career

Okposo was born to a Nigerian father and a Caucasian mother. His father immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, and eventually earned a Ph.D. His family currently resides in Minnesota, where Okposo grew up.^{[citation needed]}

During his freshman season at University of Minnesota, Okposo was placed at the center position, even though he is a natural winger. Throughout most of the season this became his most common position due to the abundance of wingers on the team.

In January 2007, he played for the U.S. National Junior Team in the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. On June 7, 2007, Okposo announced he would be returning to the University of Minnesota for the 2007–08 season. Okposo played the 2007–08 season for the University of Minnesota ice hockey team until December 19, 2007. On that morning Okposo notified his teammates at the university of his decision to leave the team. Soon after, both the Gophers and the New York Islanders announced officially that Okposo decided to leave college after the completion of his current semester and would then begin his professional hockey career.

Okposo's decision to leave school was considered controversial by some. As a response to questioning, Islanders general manager Garth Snow told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Quite frankly, we weren't happy with the program. They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that."^[1]

Coach Don Lucia then claimed that the Islanders put him "in a very difficult position." ^[2] In his response to Snow's comments, Lucia emphasized the importance of obtaining a degree, "We have had numerous players sign and play in the NHL, but just as important many more move on to have successful careers after graduating from the University of Minnesota. We have always and will continue to work to ensure our players reach their potential on the ice and in the classroom."^[3]

Okposo signed an entry level contract with the Islanders and was assigned to their top minor league affiliate, the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He made his NHL debut on March 18, 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and netted his first career NHL goal on March 21, 2008 against the New Jersey Devils, a game winner scored on the powerplay against Martin Brodeur.^[4] He also scored in his final game of the season, in a game against the New York Rangers.

On September 17, 2009, Okposo suffered a hard check to the head by Dion Phaneuf. Okposo was taken from the ice in a stretcher with a what was diagnosed as a mild concussion. He did return to the Islanders' lineup for their opening game on October 3, 2009.

On May 25, 2011, Okposo signed a 5-year, $14 million dollar contract with the New York Islanders.^[5]

Awards

• USHL Rookie of the Year - 2006
• USHL Clark Cup Playoffs MVP - 2006
• USHL First All-Star Team - 2006
• USHL All-Rookie Team - 2006

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Des Moines Buccaneers	USHL		50	27	31	58	56		11	5	11	16	8
2006–07	University of Minnesota	WCHA		33	17	20	37	30		7	2	1	3	4
2007–08	University of Minnesota	WCHA		18	7	4	11	6		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		35	9	19	28	12		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	New York Islanders	NHL		9	2	3	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	New York Islanders	NHL		65	18	21	39	36		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		2	1	0	1	2
2009–10	New York Islanders	NHL		80	19	33	52	34		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	New York Islanders	NHL		38	5	15	20	40		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				192	44	72	116	112		—	—	—	—	—

International

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze	2007 Mora

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005	United States	WHC17	5	2	2	4	2
2007	United States	WJC	7	0	1	1	2
2008	United States	WJC	6	1	5	6	2
2009	United States	WC	9	2	3	5	10
2010	United States	WC	6	1	2	3	0
Junior int'l totals			18	3	8	11	6
Senior int'l totals			15	3	5	8	10

References

1. ^ "Harris: NHL's Islanders sign Okposo away from Minn". USA Today. January 2, 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/hockey/columnist/2008-01-02-harris_N.htm. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
2. ^ "Okposo leaves Minnesota to sign with New York Islanders". USA Today. December 19, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/2007-12-19-3288514485_x.htm. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
3. ^ "Isles GM says Lucia's coaching hurt Okposo". Star Tribune. 2007-12-20. http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/12692637.html. Retrieved 2008-01-02. 
4. ^ "Okposo's first a game winner over Devils". NewsDay. 2008-03-21. http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles185617918mar18,0,4962499.story. Retrieved 2008-03-23. 
5. ^ "Okposo agrees to 5-year deal with Islanders". Yahoo!. 2011-05-25. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Akgke2DO.8nHHSqKX11qd8Z7vLYF?slug=ap-islanders-okposo. Retrieved 2011-05-26. 

External links

• Kyle Okposo's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Ryan O'Marra

New York Islanders first round pick 2006

Succeeded by Josh Bailey

Persondata
Name	Okposo, Kyle
Alternative names
Short description	American ice hockey player
Date of birth	April 16, 1988
Place of birth	St. Paul, MN, USA
Date of death
Place of death