Nick Suzuki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nick Suzuki
Nick Suzuki - Owen Sound Attack.jpg
Suzuki with the Owen Sound Attack in 2017
Born (1999-08-10) August 10, 1999 (age 22)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 208 lb (94 kg; 14 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 13th overall, 2017
Vegas Golden Knights
Playing career 2018–present

Nicholas Suzuki (born August 10, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and an alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 13th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career[]

Amateur[]

Suzuki was drafted in the 1st round, 14th overall, in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection by the Owen Sound Attack.[1] In his 2016–17 OHL season he placed second in goals scored (45) and fifth in points (96), placed on the OHL All-Star second team and won the William Hanley Trophy for Most sportmanslike player.[2] On June 23, 2017, Suzuki was drafted in the 1st round, 13th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. On July 16, 2017, Suzuki agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.[3] Suzuki was invited to the Knights training camp before the 2017–18 season; however, he was cut and reassigned to the OHL before the final roster was announced.[4] At the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, Suzuki was nominated for the Red Tilson Trophy and the William Hanley Trophy.[5] After the Owen Sound Attack were eliminated from the 2018 OHL playoffs, Suzuki was reassigned to the Knights' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.[6]

Professional[]

On September 10, 2018, prior to the 2018–19 season, Suzuki was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, along with Tomáš Tatar and a 2019 second round draft pick, in exchange for their captain Max Pacioretty.[7] After playing in 30 games for the Attack, Suzuki was traded to the Guelph Storm, along with Zachary Roberts and then-Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Sean Durzi, in exchange for Zachary Poirier, Barret Kirwin, Mark Woolley and four draft picks on January 9, 2019.[8] Suzuki would go on to help the Storm win the J. Ross Robertson Cup for their sixth championship in franchise history that season.

Suzuki made his NHL debut on October 3, 2019, against the Carolina Hurricanes.[9] He scored his first NHL point with a power-play assist in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on October 9, 2019.[10] Suzuki scored his first career NHL goal on October 17, 2019. Teammate Victor Mete scored his first NHL goal in the same game, making the pair the first Canadiens players to do so since 2005.[11]

By the time of the 2020–21 season, Suzuki had established himself as one of the Canadiens' most important players, registering 41 points in each of his first two regular seasons, the latter in only 56 games. He had even better results in the playoffs, and during the Canadiens' deep run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final he registered 7 goals and 9 assists. In the final games of the regular season and the playoffs he was paired on a line with newcomer Cole Caufield, and the two were widely praised for their linemate chemistry and offensive results.[12][13] With the departure of Phillip Danault in the off-season to the Los Angeles Kings, Suzuki was dubbed "the clear-cut top pivot of the team" going forward.[14]

Following the successful use of an offer-sheet by the Carolina Hurricanes on restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi, there was considerable speculation in sports media that the Canadiens would seek to arrive at a new contract with Suzuki well before he reached the end of his entry-level deal.[15][16] On October 12, 2021, he signed an eight-year, $63 million contract extension with the team.[17] Suzuki recorded his 100th point in a December 7, 2021 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[18]

International[]

During his junior career, Suzuki was part of Team Canada at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Suzuki was named to the 55-man longlist for the Canadian men's hockey team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[19]

Personal life[]

Suzuki is the older brother of Saginaw Spirit forward and Carolina Hurricanes draft pick, Ryan Suzuki, and his grandfather is a cousin of environmentalist David Suzuki.[20] He is fifth generation Japanese Canadian (Gosei) and is one-quarter Japanese on his father's side of the family.[21][22] On his mother's side, he is of Scottish Canadian descent.[23]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2015–16 Owen Sound Attack OHL 63 20 18 38 4 6 2 0 2 0
2016–17 Owen Sound Attack OHL 65 45 51 96 10 17 8 14 22 10
2017–18 Owen Sound Attack OHL 64 42 58 100 18 11 3 9 12 2
2017–18 Chicago Wolves AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Owen Sound Attack OHL 30 22 23 45 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Guelph Storm OHL 29 12 37 49 8 24 16 26 42 16
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 71 13 28 41 6 10 4 3 7 0
2020–21 Montreal Canadiens NHL 56 15 26 41 26 22 7 9 16 2
NHL totals 127 28 54 82 32 32 11 12 23 2

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Canada White U17 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 1 3 4 2
2016 Canada IH18 5th 4 1 2 3 0
2019 Canada WJC 6th 5 0 3 3 4
Junior totals 15 2 8 10 6

Awards and achievements[]

Award Year
NHL
All-Rookie Team 2020

References[]

  1. ^ News Staff, Bayshore. "Attack Picks in 2015 OHL Draft". Bayshore Broadcasting. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  2. ^ Walker, Bill. "Suzuki named OHL most sportsmanlike player". Owen Sound Sun Times. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "Golden Knights sign three first round picks to entry-level contracts". Vegas Golden Knights. July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Glass, Suzuki among eight players released from Golden Knights' camp". sportsnet.ca. September 22, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "OHL Announces 2017-18 Awards Finalists". ntariohockeyleague.com. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "SUZUKI, KYROU JOIN WOLVES FOR CALDER CUP RUN". chicagowolves.com. April 20, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Golden Knights Acquire Max Pacioretty From The Montreal Canadiens". NHL.com. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Beneteau, Josh (January 9, 2019). "Canadiens prospect Nick Suzuki traded from Attack to Storm in OHL". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Cowan, Stu (October 3, 2019). "Canadiens settle for one point in Carolina, falling 4-3 in a shootout". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "Canadiens' Nick Suzuki: Nabs first NHL point". CBS Sports. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Braverman, Dan (October 17, 2019). "MIN@MTL: Postgame". nhl.com. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Pronman, Corey (September 1, 2021). "NHL Pipeline Rankings: No. 12 Montreal Canadiens have legit talent in Nick Suzuki and beyond". The Athletic. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Bouabdo, Maria (August 3, 2021). "Montreal Canadiens: Three Candidates to Play on the Left Wing With Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield". A Winning Habit. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  14. ^ Engels, Eric (September 20, 2021). "Canadiens Training Camp Preview: Daunting road back to Cup contention". Sportsnet. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  15. ^ MacMillan, Ken (September 14, 2021). "Montreal Canadiens Need To Re-Sign Nick Suzuki Immediately". A Winning Habit. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  16. ^ Book, Jared (October 12, 2021). "Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens sign eight-year contract extension". Habs Eyes on the Prize. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  17. ^ "Suzuki gets eight-year, $63 million contract extension with Canadiens". NHL.com. October 12, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Canadiens hope for better bounces vs. Blackhawks". CBS Sports. December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Engels, Eric (November 12, 2021). "Canadiens' Suzuki reinforces why he's on Canada's Olympic list vs. Flames". Sportsnet. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "Nick Suzuki looking to make a name for himself with Canadiens". montrealgazette.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "Suzuki feels more confident with Golden Knights". NHL.com. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  22. ^ "Gosei Nick Suzuki looks promising for NHL Draft". Nikkei Voice | The Japanese Canadian National Newspaper. June 26, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  23. ^ Nick Suzuki gaining understanding of heritage, culture of his name

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Vegas Golden Knights first round draft pick
2017 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""