Chicago Blackhawks: Johnny Oduya Heading To Thailand During NHL Lockout

By Randy Holt
Marc DesRosiers-US PRESSWIRE

With a season looking more and more like it will be completely lost due to this nonsensical lockout, the Chicago Blackhawks are looking more and more like they will continue to watch players head overseas to get some real game action.

Already with a few playing in Europe, there are a few easy guesses as to who could end up where. One of them would be the fact that Johnny Oduya, who is from Sweden, would end up in Sweden. Right? Wrong.

It looks like Oduya will be headed to Thailand as part of this lockout. Apparently, Oduya was on vacation in Thailand. He ended up catching on with the Flying Farangs, who are based out of Bangkok, which most gentlemen probably know is actually the capital of Thailand.

Oduya was set to head into his first full season with the Blackhawks. He was acquired at last year’s trade deadline, to mixed results. The regular season performance was very good, while the playoff performance was anything but.

He proved himself to be a strong puck mover, using his speed to help lead the breakout. But one of the drawbacks was his (lack of) size, which really cost them against teams strong on the forecheck. Pairing him next to Nick Leddy, which was a good unit at times, ended up dooming the Hawks, as the two were tossed around like rag dolls.

Oduya signed a new three-year contract with the Blackhawks this past summer, one of just a couple of moves that the team actually made. Barring any sort of trade, which would require an actual season to take place, Oduya will likely once again join Leddy on that second pairing once we do eventually see a season.

Whether or not that’s in December of 2012 or 2013 remains to be seen.

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