Krzysztof was born on April 12th, 1973 in Tychy, Poland, where he also grew up.
He got his first pair of skates from his grandfather and began skating in the snow since there weren´t any rinks.
At age 13 Krzysztof changed his name from Grabowski to Oliwa when his mother remarried.

A few years later his dream of playing hockey began taking shape. Krzysztof made the Polish national junior team.When the team played in Switzerland he met coach McNamara who suggested he could play junior hockey in Canada. Krzysztof decided to take a chance. He knew that it couldn´t be worse than working in the coal mines in Poland. Krzysztof was 17 years old when he worked in the mines three times a week.It was hard work but it made him a tougher person physically. It would help him make the NHL a few years later.

At 19 he left Poland and began playing in Welland (OHAjr).
In the 1993 entry draft, the NJ Devils made him their fourth pick (65th overall).
Krzysztof spent the next three seasons in the ECHL, IHL and AHL battling his way to the NHL.He is a big sized player (6´5´´ and 235 lbs) and he fights a lot. He never had a single fight in Europe so he never learned to fight until he came to North America. There's always someone who wants to test him so he has to prove he earns his place on the team all the time.
Off the ice, Krzysztof is a family man.He is married to Dawn and they have a daughter Skylar.

Season 1996-97:
Krzysztof played 60 games for Albany River Rats (AHL) this season.He had 27 points and picked up 322 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut this season (March 9) with the NJ Devils.He played against the Buffalo Sabers (4-1). In his first shift he got into a brawl with Bob Boughner, which brought him a 5 minute penalty. He also had a shot that hit the goal post.

Season 1997-98:
Krzysztof played 73 games with the NJ Devils in the regular season. He has proved himself well as an enforcer. Krzysztof also scored his first NHL goal when NJ Devils beat NY Rangers 6-3 (March 7) - read more...
He finished the regular season with 2 goals, 3 assists and 295 penalty minutes (33 majors).It means he holds NJ Devils single-season record in PIM (the old record was 283 PIM). He was fighting a lot and deserves his nicknames: "Polish Hammer" or "The polish Pug".
In the playoffs NJ Devils lost to the Ottawa Senators in the first round.Krzysztof played very good and got a lot of ice time.He also picked up 23 penalty minutes in 6 games.
Interview with Krzystof Oliwa - (New Jersey Devils Official Web Site).

Season 1998-99:
That season started for Krzysztof even before the opening game. During one of the Devils' practices, Krzysztof and Sasha Lakovic, who also is a tough and often fist-fighting player got into a fight.
The coaches Robbie Ftorek and Slava Fetisov were forced to separate them, but before they did Krzysztof knocked Sasha out cold on the ice.
Who knows maybe it was then, when Krzysztof "fought out" his spot on the team.

After the season began, as a great "enforcer" should, Krzysztof fought often and developed a reputation of as one of the best fighters in the league. His style of play, his hard contact game and his fights made him the fan favorite, they chanted his name during the national anthem played before games.
But to prove that he belongs in the elite league, not only as an "enforcer", but also a player he also was getting points, and his total was 12 (5G +7A). His 240 penalty minutes (28 majors) placed him fifth in the NHL.
On the second of January of 1999 Krzysztof celebrated his small corner stone, he played his hundredth game in the NHL.
Just like last year the Devils' play off run ended in the first round. This time they lost to the Pittsburgh 3-4. Krzysztof played only in one of the seven games.

"Game by game stats" - stats from every game this season.

Season 1999/2000:
Krzysztof's contract with NJ Devils expired at the end of 1998/1999 season.
Devils managers and Krzysztof could not agree on a new contract and they ended up in front of an NHL arbitrator, who had to decide how much money Krzysztof was to make next season. The arbitrator awarded Krzyztof US $ 700.000 and new contract was signed.
One can say that Krzysztof won his first fight even before the season started.

The start of the new season was very successful. Krzysztof scored first goal for the Devils that season. That goal was also the first ever scored on Atlanta (new expansion club in the NHL) so it was in a sense a historical goal and it will be in the books. In that game he also got an assist. Great start to a new season.
After the first ten games Krzysztof scored 4 times.
Unfortunately in a game against Philadelphia on Nov/03 he got his knee injured. Although he only missed seven games this injury had a huge influence on the rest of the season and perhaps his entire career.

Devils once again were one of the favorites to win it all, and they proved it by winning most of their games. However their fans were afraid that like in the last couple of years, they will have a weak showing in the play-offs and it will be over in the first round.
For Krzysztof it was the best season points wise, however the most important events for him took place off the ice.
Towards the end of the regular season it was visible that Krzysztof did not play his high intense game, he did not fight as often and his game was somehow softer. It turned out that the knee injury was bothering him.
When his teammates were getting ready for the play-offs, he did not play. He missed the last three games of the regular season and when the club doctors did not help him, but they wanted him to play, Krzysztof consulted 'outside the club' doctors.
It turned out that he needs an immediate knee operation to prevent any further damage to it. He could not even think about playing in the play-offs.

This time Devils played well in the play-offs. They were not eliminated at the beginning like in the past. In the first round they beat Florida 4-0 and next Toronto 4-2. In the semi-finals they were down 1-3 to Philadelphia but they came from behind to win 4-3.
They final was a showdown with Dallas.

Krzysztof could only watch.
On July/10 Devils defeated Dallas. They were winning 3-2 in games and all they need was the one more game (which they won 2-1) to win the cup. How it turned out Krzysztof had to fly to Dallas on his own to be able to celebrate the victory. He also had to stay in a different hotel than his team.
It was a sign of things to come, and a couple days later he was traded to to Columbus Blue Jackets. It is a brand new team in the league, that will make its debut in 2000/2001.

However it does not change the fact that Krzysztof is first Polish player who won the Stanley Cup !!!
A dream of every young guy who puts on his skates. Krzysztof showed that even a player from Poland where hockey is not a very popular sport can win the most prestigious trophy in hockey.

"Game by game stats" - stats from every game this season.

Season 2000/01:
August the 1st: Krzysztof agreed to terms on a two-year contract (worth $1.7 million) with Columbus Blue Jackets.

2001-01-14 Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third round pick in the 2001 draft.