Krzysztof Oliwa

Raised in Tychy, Oliwa moved through the local youth ranks of GKS Tychy and graduated to the club's senior team in 1991-92. He represented Poland at junior international events, including U18 and U20 competitions, and spent 1992-93 in Canada with the Welland Flames to get used to North American hockey.

Selected 65th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, he spent the next few years in the Devils' minor-league system before making his NHL debut as a call-up on March 9, 1997. A left winger standing 6'5", Oliwa became known for his physical presence and enforcement role on the ice, earning the nickname "the Polish Hammer."

Oliwa was part of New Jersey's organization during the club's 1999-2000 championship season. He suffered a serious knee injury just before the playoffs, underwent surgery and did not play in the postseason, but had appeared in enough regular-season games to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup — the first player born and trained in Poland to receive that distinction. In June 2000 he was traded to the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets, where he played only ten games before breaking his arm.

His career continued with stints in Pittsburgh, New York (where he served a two-game suspension after a brawl in his ninth Rangers game), Boston and Calgary, plus a return to Poland during the 2004-05 NHL lockout with Podhale Nowy Targ. The 2005-06 season was his last as a professional; he retired at the end of that campaign.

Following retirement, Oliwa moved into coaching and management: he spent a season leading the Polish national hockey program, later owned, managed and coached the USPHL's Kalkaska Rhinos, and served as coach and general manager of the Walnut Grove Wolverines.