New Jersey Devil's Johnny Oduya and His Hockey Career

Johnny Oduya is well known for being a great offensive defenseman. David Johnny Oduya was born in Stockholm, Sweden on October 1, 1981, making him twenty-seven years old. Johnny Oduya is often referred to as Johnny Orr-duya by his fans. This nickname is a reference to Bobby Orr, who was an incredibly talented defenseman. Johnny Oduya is 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. Johnny is the brother of Fredrick Oduya, who was drafted to the NHL in 1993 by the San Jose Sharks, but unfortunately for him, never actually got to play in the NHL and retired in 2000 due to a back injury.

Johnny Oduya's hockey career begins in the 1999-2000 season when he played for the Hammarby IF in the J20 League. The J20 SuperElite is the highest level of junior hockey in Sweden. Johnny Oduya did not play the entire 1999-2000 season with the Hammarby IF in the J20, he was moved down to the Hammarby IF in the HA League. The HA League (Hockey Allsvenskan) is the second highest level of junior hockey in Sweden. In the 2000-2001 season, Johnny Oduya headed over to Canada to play for the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League). The QMJHL is one of the three leagues that makes up the CHL (Canadian Hockey League), which is the most competitive junior hockey league in Canada. He played the majority of the season with the Moncton Wildcats, but also played with the Victoriaville Tigers, another team in the QMJHL.

In 2001, Johnny Oduya went back to his home country, Sweden to play for his old team, the Hammarby IF in the HA league. He spent the 2001-2002 season with them as well as the following season. Johnny Oduya was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2001, 221st overall. Although he was drafted, in the 2003-2004 season, Johnny Oduya signed with the Djurgadens IF, a team in the SEL (Swedish Elite League). The SEL is the highest level of hockey in Sweden and is ranked as the fourth best hockey league in all of Europe. He remained with the Djurgardens IF until the 2004-2005 season. For the 2005-2006 season, Oduya moved on to another team in the SEL, the Frolunda HC.

After four seasons in the SEL, Oduya signed with the New Jersey Devils. Many expected that Oduya would not see much time with the NHL and play in the AHL (American Hockey League) the majority of the time, but this was certainly not the case. When he finally got his chance to play in the NHL, Johnny Oduya demonstrated that he had what it took to play and he remained on the New Jersey Devils roster, and has played with them for the 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and the 2008-2009 season.

ref-www.nhl.com