Andreas Athanasiou (born August 6, 1994) is a

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professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

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for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Athanasiou was drafted 110th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the

2012 NHL Entry Draft The 2012 NHL Entry Draft was the 50th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The top thr ...

Playing career

Junior

During the 2009–10 season, Athanasiou scored at a better than a point-per-game pace playing for the Toronto Titans Midget AAA team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Athanasiou recorded 24 goals and 34 assists in 56 games. Athanasiou was drafted by London 81st overall in the 2010 OHL Priority Draft. During the 2010–11 season, Athanasiou skated in 57 games as an OHL rookie with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

. Athanasiou recorded 11 goals and 11 assists. The Knights reached the OHL playoffs despite finishing last in the Midwest Division. In six playoff games Athanasiou was minus-one with no points or penalties. During the 2011–12 season, Athanasiou was one of five players to score 20 or more goals on a London Knights team that finished with the OHL's best record. Athanasiou recorded 22 goals and 15 assists in 63 games. Athanasiou skated in nine of the Knights' first 17 playoff games as London reached the

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and recorded one goal and 3 assists. Athanasiou was invited to the NHL Draft Combine and ranked 41st amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft. During the 2012–13 season, Athanasiou skated for the Barrie Colts in his third OHL season after being obtained by the Colts in an August 2012 trade with London. Athanasiou was the fourth-leading scorer for the Colts, finishing third on the team with 29 goals and recording 38 assists in 66 games. Barrie reached the OHL championship against Athanasiou's former team. In 22 playoff games Athanasiou recorded 12 goals and 13 assists. Athanasiou joined the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

during the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

playoffs but did not appear in any games. During the 2013–14 season, Athanasiou led Barrie in scoring, and ranked fifth in the league in scoring during his final OHL season, recording 49 goals and 46 assists in 66 games.

Professional

Detroit Red Wings

On November 20, 2013, the Detroit Red Wings signed Athanasiou to a three-year, entry-level contract. On April 15, 2014, Athanasiou was assigned to the

, and made his AHL debut on April 18, in a game against the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

. During the 2014–15 season, in his first full professional season, he posted the best point-per-game average, 0.58, among Griffins rookies, recording 16 goals and 16 assists in a campaign that was limited to 55 games played due to a broken jaw. He finished fifth on Grand Rapids in postseason scoring, recording five goals and four assists in 16 postseason games. Athanasiou made his NHL debut for the Red Wings on November 8, 2015 in a game against the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

. On November 10, in his second NHL game, Athanasiou scored his first career NHL goal against

Braden Holtby Braden Holtby (born September 16, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He previously played for the Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars of the National Hockey Lea ...

of the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

. On February 5, 2016, Athanasiou was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings. Prior to being recalled, he recorded eight goals and eight assists in 26 games for the Griffins. On April 30, 2016, Athanasiou was assigned to the

. During the 2015–16 season, Athanasiou recorded nine goals and five assists in 37 games for the Red Wings, while averaging 9:01 of ice time. On October 21, 2017 - following a contract holdout to begin the season - Athanasiou and the Red Wings agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $1,387,500. During the 2019–20 season, Athanasiou recorded 10 goals and 14 assists in 46 games with the Red Wings, and owned a league worst plus/minus -45.

Edmonton Oilers

On February 24, 2020, Athanasiou was traded by the Red Wings at the NHL trade deadline, along with Ryan Kuffner, to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in exchange for

Sam Gagner Sam William Gagner (born August 10, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipeg Jets. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 6th overall, of the 2007 NHL E ...

and second-round draft pick in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and

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. He registered 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 regular season games before the season was paused due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In returning for the post-season, Athanasiou went scoreless in four games as the Oilers failed to make the second round of the playoffs. As an impending restricted free agent and due to salary cap considerations, Athanasiou was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Oilers on October 7, 2020, and was released to explore free agency.

Los Angeles Kings

On December 28, 2020, Athanasiou signed a one-year, $1.2 million dollar contract with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. On July 28, 2021, Athanasiou signed a one-year, $2.7 million dollar contract with the

Chicago Blackhawks

As a free agent from the Kings, Athanasiou joined his fourth NHL team after signing a one-year, $3 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 13, 2022.

International play

Athanasiou was part of the gold medal-winning Ontario team at the

2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament held in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada between December 29, 2010 and January 4, 2011. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held by Hockey Canada annually to ...

. Athanasiou was one of five players for Ontario who had five or more points in the five-game WHC, finishing with two goals and three assists.

Personal life

Athanasiou is ethnically of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Guyanese (

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...

) descent. His father is a pilot with Air Canada. In 2017, Athanasiou adopted a

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diet. He is currently in a relationship with LPGA player Nelly Korda.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athanasiou, Andreas 1994 births Living people Barrie Colts players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Greek descent Canadian sportspeople of Guyanese descent Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey people from Ontario London Knights players Los Angeles Kings players Sportspeople from London, Ontario