Otto Koivula

Playing career

Otto Koivula got his start in hockey with the Ilves Tampere youth program. After spending two years in the Junior A SM-liiga, he signed a two-year deal with Ilves in the top Finnish league, the Liiga, in March 2016. Later that year, the New York Islanders picked him in the fourth round of the NHL draft. Following his second full Liiga season in 2017–18, Koivula inked a three-year entry-level contract with the Islanders in March 2018. His first season in North America saw the Bridgeport Sound Tigers shift him from his natural wing to center, a move that paid off with 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points over 69 games. He got his first NHL call-up in late October 2019 and made his NHL debut on November 16 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Because the 2020–21 North American season was delayed by the pandemic, the Islanders loaned him to HIFK in Finland that October. He was re-signed to a one-year contract in September 2021 but was placed on waivers a few weeks later. After the 2023–24 season, Koivula left the Islanders as a restricted free agent and headed back to Scandinavia, signing a two-year contract with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League in July 2024.