Oskars Bārtulis (; born 21 January, 1987) is a Latvian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He played parts of two seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. In 2018, Bartulis became a Russian citizen and initially ineligible to play for Latvia at national level.

Playing career

Bārtulis was a winger and didn't start playing defence until he was drafted 27th overall by the

Moncton Wildcats The Moncton Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Moncton, New Brunswick. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 QMJHL season, 1995–96 season known as the Moncton A ...

in the 2004

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...

(CHL) European Draft. He was drafted after just one season with the Wildcats in the third round, 91st overall, in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Special procedures were required to determine the order ...

by the

. He was traded to the

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles The Cape Breton Eagles are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. They are members of the Maritimes Division, and play their home games at ...

at the 2006 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the

on September 23, 2006 following training camp. However, due to junior eligibility, he was returned to the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

(QMJHL) two days later. Bārtulis made his NHL debut against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

on November 12, 2009, going scoreless and playing 17:18 minutes of ice time. Impressed with his play after his first 10 games with the team, the Flyers signed Bārtulis to a three-year contract extension on December 2. On February 22, 2011 Bārtulis received a late hit from former Philadelphia Flyer

Scottie Upshall Scott Upshall (born October 7, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He was selected in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators in the first round, sixth overall. Playing career Amateur As a youth, Upshall ...

, resulting in a Labral tear of the shoulder. The injury forced Bartulis out for the rest of the season and

was issued a two-game suspension for the hit. Upshall later apologized and admitted after viewing the replay the hit was late. On June 30, 2012 Bārtulis' $600,000 contract was bought out by the Flyers after spending the 2011–12 season with the Flyers AHL affiliate. Entering his seventh season in the KHL in 2018–19, Bārtulis belatedly signed a one-year contract in joining his fifth club in Chinese outfit, Kunlun Red Star, on November 13, 2018. Following his 15th professional year at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, Bārtulis ended his playing career and opted to pursue a junior coaching career in Switzerland on 9 September 2022. Bārtulis returned to play in 2023 by signing for Portuguese team

HC Porto Ice Hockey Club Porto, or HC Porto for short, is a Portuguese ice hockey team based in the city of Porto. Established in 2023, they became the first ever Portuguese team to join the Spanish ''Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo'' (LNHH). Since 2024 th ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartulis, Oskars 1987 births Moncton Wildcats players Cape Breton Screaming Eagles players Philadelphia Phantoms players Adirondack Phantoms players Philadelphia Flyers players HC Donbass players Barys Astana players Admiral Vladivostok players Salavat Yulaev Ufa players HC Kunlun Red Star players Dinamo Riga players EHC Black Wings Linz players Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Latvian ice hockey defencemen 21st-century Latvian sportsmen Living people Olympic ice hockey players for Latvia People from Ogre, Latvia Sportspeople from Vidzeme Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate ice hockey players in Ukraine