Daniel Kristo (born June 18, 1990) is an American 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 ...

forward who is currently playing for

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

in the UK EIHL. Kristo previously played with HK Dukla Michalovce of the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth st ...

Playing career

Kristo was drafted by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, 56th overall in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

. He played college hockey with the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

in the NCAA Men's Division I

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

conference. In his senior year, Kristo's outstanding play was rewarded with a selection to the 2012–13 All-

First Team. On July 2, 2013, Kristo was traded, by the Canadiens, to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

for right winger Christian Thomas. On August 19, 2014, the Rangers announced that they had re-signed Kristo, who was a restricted free agent, to a one-year $826,875 contract. On July 2, 2015, Kristo left the Rangers as a free agent, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. In the 2015–16 season, Kristo was assigned to play with the Blues AHL affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. In playing the entirety of the year with the Wolves, Kristo appeared in 71 games in compiling 25 goals and 48 points. On August 2, 2016, Kristo re-signed with the St. Louis Blues on a one-year, two-way contract. In the 2016–17 season, his second year with the Wolves, Kristo had 2 assists in 8 games before he was dealt by the Blues to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in exchange for defenseman Reid McNeill on November 19, 2016. Remaining in the AHL with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

, Kristo added 6 goals and 11 points in 32 games before on February 23, 2017, he was dealt again by the Penguins to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

along with a second round draft pick in exchange for Ron Hainsey. He played out the season with the Hurricanes AHL affiliate, the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

, contributing with 10 points in 14 games. With dwindling NHL prospects going forward, Kristo opted to sign his first contract abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with Latvian based Dinamo Riga of the KHL on June 30, 2017. After a two-year stint in the Swiss

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

with SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, Kristo left as a free agent to return to the KHL, agreeing to a one-year deal with Chinese club,

HC Kunlun Red Star HC Kunlun Red Star () is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season. History Preparation of the team In March 2016, representatives of Kunlun Red Star and the KHL signed a protocol o ...

, on July 29, 2020. Kristo collected 4 goals in 14 contests with Kunlun before leaving to KHL to join German club,

Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion. Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburger EV ...

of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) on January 8, 2021. As a free agent, following completing the season with the Augsburger Panther, Kristo moved to the Czech Republic in agreeing to a one-year contract with Rytíři Kladno of the ELH, on July 14, 2021. In October 2022, following a spell in Slovakia with HK Dukla Michalovce, Kristo moved to the UK to sign for

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

(EIHL) side

Personal life

Kristo's second cousin Ben Blood was drafted by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He currently plays for

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at ''Tampere Deck Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 18 Finnish league championships (1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, ...

in the

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kristo, Danny 1990 births Living people American men's ice hockey right wingers Augsburger Panther players Brynäs IF players Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Chicago Wolves players Dinamo Riga players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players HC Kunlun Red Star players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Ice hockey players from Minnesota People from Eden Prairie, Minnesota North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Rytíři Kladno players Västerviks IK players HK Dukla Michalovce players Sheffield Steelers players