Mark Owuya

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image = Mark Owuya Royals2.JPG

| caption = Owuya playing for the Reading Royals in 2012

| image_size = 225px

| played_for = Djurgårdens IF
Toronto Marlies
Luleå HF
KHL Medveščak Zagreb

| ntl_team =

| position = Goaltender

| catches = Left

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1989|07|18}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 200

| draft = Undrafted

| career_start = 2008

| career_end = 2016

}}

Mark Aloysius Opoya Owuya (born 18 July 1989) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He most recently played for the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. He formerly played for KHL Medveščak Zagreb, a member of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Playing career

Owuya began playing junior hockey with Djurgårdens IF in the 2005–06 season when he began playing with the U18 team. The following season Owuya played with both Djurgården's U18 and J20 team and also played most of the games with the Djurgården's J20 team in the 2007–08 season. While Stefan Ridderwall joined team Sweden for the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Owuya made his Elitserien debut on 3 January 2008, against Brynäs IF.{{cite web|last=Alexanderson|first=Thomas|title=Mark Owuyas Elitseriedebut|url=http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4391|work=difhockey.se|publisher=Djurgårdens IF Hockey|accessdate=5 February 2011|language=Swedish|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322002959/http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4391|archivedate=22 March 2012}} He was loaned out to Mälarhöjden/Bredängs IK during the 2007–08 winter,{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Jimmy|title=Dennis och Mark lånas ut|url=http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4314|work=difhockey.se|publisher=Djurgårdens IF Hockey|accessdate=5 February 2011|language=Swedish|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322003009/http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4314|archivedate=22 March 2012}} and was also later loaned out to Almtuna IS for the entire 2008–09 season.{{cite web|last=Alexanderson|first=Thomas|title=Mark in da Almtuna-park|url=http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4926|work=difhockey.se|publisher=Djurgårdens IF Hockey|accessdate=5 February 2011|language=Swedish|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404091805/http://www.difhockey.se/nyhet.php?news=4926|archivedate=4 April 2012}}

Owuya was also on loan during the 2009–10 season, first to Örebro HK and later Mora IK.{{cite news|last=Arvidsson|first=Johan|title=Owuya klar för konkurrent|url=http://na.se/sporten/ishockey/1.714994-owuya-klar-for-konkurrent|accessdate=5 February 2011|newspaper=Nerikes Allehanda|date=24 January 2010|language=Swedish}} In the 2010 pre-season, Owuya was moved up to Djurgården's senior team, to compete with goaltender Stefan Ridderwall to be the first choice in the goal.{{cite news|title=Hovets sista utposter i ständig konkurrens|url=https://www.dn.se/sport/ishockey/hovets-sista-utposter-i-standig-konkurrens/|access-date=5 February 2011|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|date=6 September 2010|language=Swedish}} Ultimately, Owuya played in 32 out of 55 games in the 2010–11 Elitserien season, with a 2.18 goals against average and league-best save percentage of .927.{{cite news|url=https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=363946|title=Maple Leafs sign Swedish goaltending prospect Owuya|date=28 April 2011|publisher=tsn.ca|accessdate=28 April 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://estat.hockeyligan.se/c/LGoalkeepers.aspx?LId=198|title=Målvaktsstatistik|work=hockeyligan.se|publisher=Svenska Hockeyligan AB|language=Swedish|accessdate=17 September 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725134811/http://estat.hockeyligan.se/c/LGoalkeepers.aspx?LId=198|archivedate=25 July 2011}} He also played in all of Djurgården's seven playoff games, with a 1.66 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.{{cite web|url=http://estat.hockeyligan.se/c/LGoalkeepers.aspx?LId=247 |title=Målvaktsstatistik |work=hockeyligan.se |publisher=Svenska Hockeyligan AB |language=Swedish |accessdate=17 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915223803/http://estat.hockeyligan.se/c/LGoalkeepers.aspx?LId=247 |archivedate=15 September 2012 }}

International play

{{MedalCountry | {{ih|Sweden}}}}

Owuya represented Sweden at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.{{cite news|title=Sweden stays perfect|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article730115.ece|accessdate=5 February 2011|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=19 December 2008|agency=CP}}

Personal

His father is from Uganda and his mother is from Russia.{{cite news|last=Abrahamsson|first=Hans|title=Jag ska till NHL|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/sverige/elitserien/djurgarden/article7965881.ab|accessdate=5 February 2011|newspaper=Aftonbladet|date=16 October 2010|language=Swedish}} Mark's brother Sebastian was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010. Owuya is also known in Sweden for rapping on popular talent show Idol as "Mark In Da Park".