Phil Oreskovic - Playing Career

Playing Career

Oreskovic was drafted 82nd overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Phil played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brampton Battalion and the Owen Sound Attack before turning professional at the end of the 2006–07 season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

On June 1, 2007, Oreskovic was signed by the Maple Leafs to a three-year entry level contract. He then started out the 2007–08 season with Columbia Inferno of the ECHL before making his way up to the Leafs main affiliate the Marlies.

Oreskovic started the 2008–09 season with the Marlies before being recalled by the Maple Leafs on March 9, 2009. Phil made his NHL debut with the Leafs on the same day, a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, and became the 400th ECHL player to reach the NHL. On March 24, 2009, Oreskovic scored his first NHL goal against José Théodore of the Washington Capitals in a 3-2 victory.

He spent the 2009-10 season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies playing a career high 74 games, while scoring 2 goals and getting 7 assists. In the 2010 offseason, Oreskovic was not offered a contract extension by the Toronto Maple Leafs, thus being acquired as a free agent by the Washington Capitals. He signed a professional tryout contract (PTO) in September 2010 and is currently playing for the Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey Bears.

Upon joining the Bears organization, Bears forward Johann Kroll was already wearing the uniform #4 and former Bears goaltender and current Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov was already wearing the uniform #40 (at the time), therefore Oreskovic chose to wear the uniform #32. Oreskovic wore the uniform #4 with the Brampton Battalion, Owen Sound Attack, Columbia Inferno and the Toronto Marlies, and wore the uniform #40 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.