TheHockey Club Lugano has defined the identity of the fourth foreigner in its squad after captain Mark Arcobello and the renewals with the other two forwards Daniel Carr and Troy Josephs.
In fact, the bianconera club has signed a contract valid for the next two championships with 26-year-old Finnish defenseman Oliwer Kaski (190 cm x 89 kg), who has been with Avangard Omsk (KHL) for the past two championships and whose NHL rights belong to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Born on 04.09.1995 and trained at Ässät Pori until the age of 20, before an experience at Western Michigan University (NCAA), Kaski played his first two seasons in the Finnish top league with HIFK Helsinki.
What consecrated him at the highest level was the 2018/19 championship with the Lahti Pelicans jersey when, with 65 games, 21 goals, 34 assists and 55 points, he won the Pekka Rautakallio Award as the best defender, the Lasse Oksanen Award as the best player of the Regular Season and the Juha Rantasila Trophy as the defender with the most goals in the Liiga.
An explosion that also earned him a call-up to the national team for the World Championships in Bratislava, where he triumphed with his country, defeating Canada 3-1 in the final to win the third world title in Finland's history. Kaski then played a second World Championship in 2021 in Riga, when the men with the maple leaf on their uniforms took revenge in the final against Finland, winning in overtime.
After a year in the AHL split between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Charlotte Checkers (54 games, 25 points), Kaski later embraced the KHL adventure with Avangard Omsk, which was brutally interrupted during the last playoffs due to the war in Ukraine.
In the KHL Kaski played a total of 131 games with a haul of 78 points (29 goals, 49 assists), contributing in 2021 to Avangard Omsk winning the highest trophy (Gagarin Cup), when he was also included in the league's All Star Team. In the 2021/22 season Kaski was the defender who scored the most goals in the Regular Season (13).
These are the words of GM Hnat Domenichelli:
"Oliwer is a young right defender with a strong shot. He has good game vision and a fluid skating. We are happy to have him with us and we are convinced that with his solidity he will complete our package of defenders for next season."