Victor Oreskovich

Victor J. Oreskovich (born August 15, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger.

Oreskovich played minor hockey with the Oakville Rangers of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association South-Central Triple A Hockey League, winning two provincial rep championships with the club in the mid-1990s.

He played in the 1999 and 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Markham Islanders, and then the Toronto Marlboros.

After one year with the St. Catharines Falcons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Oreskovich's playing rights were acquired by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who selected him in the sixth round of the 2002 OHL Priority Selection.

Interested in maintaining his eligibility for college hockey in the United States, Oreskovich instead played the 2002–03 season with the Milton Icehawks of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL), before joining the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) the following year.

Selected 55th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Kitchener Rangers of the major junior Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before deciding to turn professional.

He recorded 37 points in 58 games and was named to the 2004 USHL All-Star Game.

Following his season with the Gamblers, Oreskovich was selected in the second round, 55th overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche.

Recruited to play college hockey with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), Oreskovich joined the club following his draft on a US$42,000 annual scholarship.

He struggled in his freshman year, recording three points in 37 games.

With aspirations to turn professional sooner, he left Notre Dame nine games into his sophomore year to join the OHL, where his major junior rights had been traded on November 24, 2005, from Windsor to the Kitchener Rangers.

Kitchener was Oreskovich's desired destination to play major junior, as his best friend and former minor hockey teammate Evan McGrath starred with the Rangers.

In December 2005, he debuted with the Rangers, scoring goals in his first three games.

He went on to record 16 points over 19 games for the remainder of the 2005–06 season.

Oreskovich attended the Avalanche's training camp at the start of the 2006–07 season, where he was among the first cuts reassigned back to junior.

Returning to the Rangers for a second season, he finished with 28 goals and 60 points in 62 games.

After signing a contract with the Avalanche in 2007, he was assigned to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, but chose not to report and spent two years away from hockey.

The following off-season, on July 7, 2007, Oreskovich was signed to a two-year, entry level contract by the Colorado Avalanche.

He returned for his second Avalanche training camp for the 2007–08 season and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.

Oreskovich, however, did not report to the Monsters; he was suspended by the Avalanche, before announcing his retirement from the game, citing burnout and a lost drive, and re-enrolled at Notre Dame.

After a two-year hiatus, Oreskovich regained ambitions to play professionally and reached out to former Kitchener Rangers coach Peter DeBoer, now head coach of the NHL's Florida Panthers.

In 2009, he signed with the Florida Panthers and spent the subsequent season between the NHL and the team's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

He earned a try-out with the Panthers at their training camp for the 2009–10 season.

He was assigned to Florida's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans and was signed to a two-year contract with the Panthers on October 7, 2009.

Within less than a month, Oreskovich was called up to the NHL, making his debut with the Panthers against the St. Louis Blues on October 31.

Providing an energetic checking presence with the Panthers, he scored his first NHL goal against Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings in a 4–3 defeat on November 16.

He split his professional rookie season between the Panthers and Americans, scoring six points over 50 games in the NHL and 15 points over 34 games in the AHL.

During the 2010 NHL Entry Draft on June 25, 2010, Oreskovich was traded to the Vancouver Canucks along with defenceman Keith Ballard in exchange for Michael Grabner, Steve Bernier, and Vancouver's first round pick, the 25th overall selection, used to select Quinton Howden.

The following off-season, he was traded to the Canucks, joining the team in 2011 on their run to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Boston Bruins.

In October 2011, he was waived by the Canucks and assigned to the Chicago Wolves, the Canucks' AHL affiliate.

Oreskovich retired from hockey in 2012, and returned to university in 2015.

He completed a Master of Business Administration degree, and joined the Royal Bank of Canada.

Oreskovich was born in Whitby, Ontario and grew up in Oakville, Ontario, the son of Victor and Diane.

He is of Italian-Croatian descent.

He attended high school at Notre Dame College School in Welland, Ontario, as well as at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville.

While playing college hockey with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he studied finance before dropping out to join the Kitchener Rangers.

He later re-enrolled at University of Notre Dame during his two-year hiatus from his hockey career, to complete his finance degree.

After his playing career ended Oreskovich spent two years working at Sun Life Financial, moving into a management position.

In 2015, Oreskovich enrolled at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario to complete his master's degree in Business Administration, which he received in 2016.

He subsequently took up a position with the Royal Bank of Canada.