Chicago Blackhawks Johnny Oduya going for Exotic Hockey, signs on with Thailand team -NHL Update
In an exotic and surprising move, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, Johnny Oduya, is going to play hockey in Thailand. The veteran defender has reportedly chosen to play where no other National Hockey League (NHL) player has gone to play during the current
lockout since it seemed like a good place during his vacation there.
"I didn't know if it would be a good idea but once we started looking into it a bit more we got more excited," Oduya told the Bangkok Post. "I didn't know that it would end up anything like this, this is a much bigger venue than anything I thought I would
be part of. In the beginning, the first day, I showed up to practice and it was more like 'Oh you are here, we didn't really think you were going to show up.' They thought it was all talk. I hope they think it's been fun and as long as everybody has a good
time I'm happy with that."
Being a native of Stockholm, Sweden, Oduya was termed to have been in negotiations with various teams around Europe and could have gone to his hometown team, but surprisingly made the move to try something different. He also stated that he would enjoy continuing
to play in Thailand following his retirement from the NHL, whenever that would be.
At the moment, Oduya is under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks till the 2014-2015 NHL regular season comes to an end. The deal is a three-year one with a value of $10.15 million and will make him an unrestricted free agent by the time it comes to closure.
Oduya is a 31-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the Washington Capitals as the 221st overall back in round-seven of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He never played with his original draft team but kicked off him NHL career with the New Jersey Devils,
followed by the Atlanta Thrashers and was traded by Winnipeg Jets to Chicago Blackhawks near the end of the previous regular season.
In total, Oduya has 463 games under his belt with 114 points, which are made up of 23 goals and 91 assists along with 222 minutes in penalty time.
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