Nikos Tselios ( gr, Νίκος Τσέλιος; born January 20, 1979) is a

Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

former 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 ...

defenseman. Tselios became the first draft pick in the history of 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 ...

when he was selected 22nd overall in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

Playing career

As a youth, Tselios played in the 1993

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Chicago Blackhawks

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. Tselios was the first draft pick for the inaugural

in the

. After he was drafted, Tselios returned to the OHL to play for the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario ...

. Tselios made his NHL debut with the

during the 2001–02 season, playing two games. Those would be the only NHL games he would play as he spent the next four seasons playing in the minor leagues. In October 2005, Tselios signed with

KalPa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...

of the Finnish

SM-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 leagu ...

and played with them until January 31, 2006, when he moved to Färjestads BK of the Swedish Elitserien. He scored his first goal at Färjestad on March 25 in the semifinal of the Swedish Championship against

HV 71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League s ...

. He then played in the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

with the Chicago Hounds before returning to Sweden, signing with HK Örebro in the Swedish First Division, the country's third-tier level.

Personal life

Tselios is a cousin of long-time NHL defenseman

Chris Chelios Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal ...

. Tselios also tried for the Greece national team in the 2006. Tselios owns and operates an instructional hockey business called Infinity Hockey Selects, and resides in Illinois with his wife and son.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tselios, Nikos 1979 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen American people of Greek descent Belleville Bulls players Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Chicago Hounds (ice hockey team) players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players Färjestad BK players Ice hockey players from Illinois KalPa players Lowell Lock Monsters players National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Glen Ellyn, Illinois Plymouth Whalers players Sportspeople from Oak Park, Illinois Springfield Falcons players Utah Grizzlies (AHL) players