Oskars Bārtulis Explained

Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lb:202
Played For:Philadelphia Flyers
Donbass Donetsk
Barys Astana
Admiral Vladivostok
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Kunlun Red Star
Dinamo Riga
HK Mogo
Ntl Team:Latvia
Birth Date:21 January 1987
Birth Place:Ogre, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Draft Team:Philadelphia Flyers
Draft Year:2005
Draft:91st overall
Career Start:2007
Career End:2022

Oskars Bārtulis (Russian: Оскарс Бартулис; born 21 January, 1987) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played parts of two seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2018, Bartulis became a Russian citizen and initially ineligible to play for Latvia at national level.[1]

Playing career

Bārtulis was a winger and didn't start playing defence until he was drafted 27th overall by the Moncton Wildcats in the 2004 Canadian Hockey League (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 by the Philadelphia Flyers. He was traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at the 2006 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.

He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 2006 following training camp. However, due to junior eligibility, he was returned to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) two days later.

Bārtulis made his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators on November 12, 2009, going scoreless and playing 17:18 minutes of ice time.[2] 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, resulting in a Labral tear of the shoulder. The injury forced Bartulis out for the rest of the season and Scottie Upshall was issued a two-game suspension for the hit.[3] Upshall later apologized and admitted after viewing the replay the hit was late.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
2001–02HK Prizma RīgaLAT6 0 1 1 2
2001–02HK Prizma RīgaEEHL B3 1 0 1 2
2002–03HK Prizma RīgaEEHL B12 5 5 10 12
2002–03Vilki OPLAT6 0 0 0 86 0 1 1 4
2003–04CSKA–2 MoscowRUS.344 2 6 8 32
2004–05Moncton WildcatsQMJHL62 5 19 24 5512 1 1 2 16
2005–06Moncton WildcatsQMJHL54 6 25 31 8421 1 9 10 22
2006–07Cape Breton Screaming EaglesQMJHL55 13 35 48 5216 3 9 12 24
2007–08Philadelphia PhantomsAHL57 1 20 21 42
2008–09Philadelphia PhantomsAHL80 2 11 13 594 0 0 0 4
2009–10Adirondack PhantomsAHL12 2 2 4 14
2009–10Philadelphia FlyersNHL53 1 8 9 287 0 0 0 4
2010–11Philadelphia FlyersNHL13 0 0 0 4
2010–11Adirondack PhantomsAHL4 0 1 1 2
2011–12Adirondack PhantomsAHL36 1 10 11 20
2012–13Donbass DonetskKHL40 3 4 7 88
2013–14Donbass DonetskKHL50 2 7 9 2811 1 3 4 14
2014–15Barys AstanaKHL50 1 6 7 547 0 0 0 2
2015–16Admiral VladivostokKHL52 8 16 24 585 0 1 1 4
2016–17Admiral VladivostokKHL53 2 7 9 406 0 1 1 0
2017–18Admiral VladivostokKHL32 0 5 5 38
2017–18Salavat Yulaev UfaKHL10 0 1 1 64 0 0 0 2
2018–19Kunlun Red StarKHL15 2 1 3 8
2019–20Dinamo RīgaKHL28 1 7 8 18
2020–21HK Mogo/LSPALAT14 3 8 11 8
2020–21Steinbach Black Wings 1992ICEHL29 3 10 13 30
2021–22HK Mogo/LSPALAT27 9 16 25 266 0 1 1 4
AHL totals189 6 44 50 1374 0 0 0 4
NHL totals66 1 8 9 327 0 0 0 4
KHL totals330 19 53 72 33833 1 5 6 22

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
2003LatviaWJC18 D151346
2004LatviaWJC D1522412
2004LatviaWJC18 D1532516
2005LatviaWJC D151676
2005LatviaWC10002
2006LatviaWJC30000
2007LatviaWJC D150776
2009LatviaWC40000
2010LatviaOG40002
2012LatviaWC61232
2013LatviaOGQ31014
2014LatviaOG51010
2016LatviaOGQ30334
Junior totals287202746
Senior totals2635814

Awards and honours

AwardYear
QMJHL
All-Rookie Team2004–05
CHL All-Rookie Team2004–05
CHL Top Prospects Game2005
Second All-Star Team2006–07
KHL
All-Star Game2016

Notes and References

  1. News: Former national hockey team defenseman Oskars Bartulis obtains Russian citizenship . 19 June 2018 . . 3 June 2018.
  2. Web site: Senators vs. Flyers - 11/12/2009 - Boxscore . Philadelphia Flyers . 2009-11-12 . 2010-07-11.
  3. Web site: Scottie Upshall suspended for hit on Bartulis . Broad Street Hockey . 2011-02-22 . 2011-02-22.
  4. News: Upshall. Scottie. Upshall sorry for hit.
  5. News: Broad Street Hockey. Bought Out Like the Wolf: Goodbye, Oskars Bartulis. Rothenberg. Ben. 2012-06-30 . 2012-07-01.
  6. Web site: Kunlun Red Star signs Oskars Bartulis . . 2018-11-13 . 2018-11-13.
  7. Web site: Bārtulis puts an end to his career . sportacentrs.com . 9 September 2022 . 9 September 2022 . Latvian.