Andre Burakovsky

André Burakovsky (also stylized as Burakowsky, born 9 February 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Washington Capitals, who drafted him 23rd overall in 2013, the Colorado Avalanche, who acquired his rights and consequently signed him during the 2019 offseason, the Seattle Kraken, and the Chicago Blackhawks. Burakovsky is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Capitals in 2018 and the Avalanche in 2022.

Playing career Burakovsky made his professional debut during the 2011–12 season with the Malmö Redhawks of HockeyAllsvenskan when he was just 16 years old. In ten games with Malmö, he recorded just one assist for one point. He split the season with Malmö Jr. of the J20 Nationell, where he tallied 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 47 games. Burakovsky was selected in the third round (102nd overall) by SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012 KHL Junior Draft. He split the 2012–13 season between the HockeyAllsvenskan and J20 Nationell leagues for the Redhawks, recording three goals and seven points in 13 games with the junior team and four goals and 11 points in 43 games with the senior team. He joined the Otters for the 2013–14 season where he appeared in 57 games, scoring 41 goals and 87 points. The Otters qualified for the playoffs and advanced to the Western Conference finals where they were knocked out by the Guelph Storm. Burakovsky made 14 playoff appearances for the Otters, marking ten goals and 13 points. After spending one year in the OHL, Burakovsky opened the 2014–15 season with the Capitals, having been moved to the centre position from the wing. Burakovsky scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut on 9 October 2014, against Dustin Tokarski of the Montreal Canadiens. He became the second-fastest Capitals player to score their first career NHL goal, and the 13th Capitals player to score in his NHL debut. Despite starting off strong, by December he was scratched from the lineup for five out of six games before being sent down to Washington's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on 19 December. After a brief stint in the AHL, he was recalled on 22 December. He remained with the Capitals until the NHL trade deadline in March 2015 when he was assigned to Hershey to make room for the newly-acquired Curtis Glencross. He had three brief recalls, one in March and two in April as an injury replacement. At times, he saw playing time on the first line with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Bäckström, but bounced around the lineup, and by the end of the seaosn, ended up on the fourth line alongside with Michael Latta and Stanislav Galiev. After eliminating the Islanders, the team moved on to the second round to face the New York Rangers. Playing on a line with Troy Brouwer and Jay Beagle, he marked his first postseason point assisting on Beagle's goal in a 1–0 game three win. He recorded his first two NHL postseason goals in the following game on 6 May against Henrik Lundqvist in a 2–1 win. However, the Rangers eliminated the Capitals and Burakovsky was loaned back to Hershey. He appeared in one playoff game with Hershey before they were eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack. In 2015–16 he started the season as the team's second line centre, filling in for the injured Bäckström. However, upon Bäckström's return, he was bumped down to the fourth line again on the wing. He struggled on the fourth line and his coach, Barry Trotz, bounced him between lines trying to find something that worked for him. By January, he was out of the slump and on the second line alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams. He appeared in 79 games, scoring 17 goals and 38 points. They advanced to the second round where they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 12 playoff games, Burakovsky marked one goal. However, after a brief stint on the team's top line, he found himself on the third line alongside Lars Eller and Brett Connolly in January 2017. On 22 January, against the Dallas Stars, Burakovsky scored the game's first goal for the fourth consecutive game, tying the NHL record for the most consecutive team games scoring the first goal. On 9 February, he suffered an upper body injury in a game against the Detroit Red Wings and missed 15 games, returning on 18 March. He finished the season with 12 goals and 35 points in 64 games. In 13 playoff games, Burakovsky marked three goals and six points.

During the 2017–18 season, on 24 October, Burakovsky required surgery on his thumb after it was injured in a game against the Florida Panthers and was expected to miss six to eight weeks. He returned to the Capitals lineup on 8 December after missing 20 games. He appeared in 56 games, recording 12 goals and 25 points. After missing ten playoff games, and going pointless upon returning, Burakovsky scored two goals in game seven against Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning to help send the Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. He admitted to hiring a sports psychologist, saying, "I think when I'm doing something bad, I'm thinking about it for a long time, and it just sits in my head. That's something I have to work on in the summer." Despite his struggles, Burakovsky won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals on 7 June after beating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Stanley Cup Final. In 13 playoff games, he scored two goals and six points. In December he was scratched from the lineup for nearly two weeks, sitting for four games. Upon his return, he slotted into the lineup on the third line alongside Eller and Connolly. In 76 games, he scored 12 goals and 25 points. In seven playoff games, Burakovksy marked one goal and two points. On 15 July 2019, Burakovsky agreed to his qualifying offer, accepting a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Avalanche. After attending his first training camp with Colorado, Burakovsky made his debut with the Avalanche in the opening game of the season against the Calgary Flames on 3 October, registering an assist. Relied to provide in an increased role from his tenure with the Capitals, Burakovsky responded by securing a role among the top six forwards, reaching the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career in placing third on the team in scoring with a career high 45 points through 58 regular season games. He collected a career-high four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on 4 February 2020. Missing 13 games through injury, Burakovsky returned from the COVID-19 pandemic pause in the playoffs to notch seven goals and 17 points in only 15 post-season games. He notched two points in game seven of the Western Conference semifinals, however, was unable to help Colorado past the Dallas Stars after they were defeated by the Stars in game seven in overtime for a 4–3 series defeat.

On 10 October 2020, as a restricted free agent, Burakovsky signed a two-year, $9.8 million contract extension with the Avalanche. In the pandemic-delayed season, Burakovsky continued in his second-line role primarily playing alongside Nazem Kadri and Brandon Saad. He made his 400th NHL appearance in a 3–2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on 26 February 2021. He collected his 100th career goal on 10 May, against the Golden Knights and finished the regular season with the Presidents' Trophy winning Avalanche, just one goal and one point short of his previous season totals with 19 goals and 44 points through 53 games. He was unable to replicate his previous playoff form with the Avalanche in the 2021 playoffs, registering one goal and three assists for four points through ten games as the Avalanche swept the St. Louis Blues in the first round before a second-round defeat to the Golden Knights.

On 12 December 2021, Burakovsky scored his first career hat trick in a game against the Florida Panthers at Ball Arena. He finished the 2021–22 season with 22 goals and 39 points. They defeated the Edmonton Oilers in four games to advance to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, the second Cup Final of Burakovsky's career, though he suffered an injury while shot-blocking that caused him to miss two games. Returning to the lineup for game one of the Finals against the two time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Burakovsky scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, only his second of the playoffs to that point. In 12 playoff games, he tallied three goals and eight points. He played the first half of the 2022–23 season before suffering a season-ending injury on 7 February 2023 against the New York Islanders. He tore his groin muscle during the game and then suffered rehabilitation setbacks resulting in the conclusion of his season. He was leading the team in scoring at the time with 13 goals and 39 points in 49 games. He returned to the Kraken roster for the 2023–24 season He briefly returned on 7 December before suffering another injury. He returned full-time on 29 December in a 2–1 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished the season having appeared 49 games, scoring seven goals and 16 points. However, he rebounded in the second half and finished the season with ten goals and 37 points in 79 games. However, after Bedard was injured and the arrival of top prospect Anton Frondell, Burakovsky's productivity declined and he began to move down the lineup, first alongside Ryan Donato and Frank Nazar and then to the fourth line towards the end of the season and then finishing as a healthy scratch. In 75 games with Chicago, he recorded 11 goals and 33 points.

International play

Burakovsky won a silver medal playing with Team Sweden at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships. Burakovsky represented Sweden at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a bronze medal. He tallied eleven points at the tournament.

Personal life Burakovsky was born in Klagenfurt in southern Austria where his father was playing ice hockey at the time, but grew up in Malmö, Sweden, his father's hometown. His father is Robert Burakovsky, who was drafted 217th overall in the 1985 NHL entry draft and played 23 games with the Ottawa Senators in the season. His mother is Pernilla Burakovsky. He has two sisters, Alexandra and Anna. His cousin, Samuel Burakovsky, is a professional footballer for Landskrona BoIS in the Swedish second division. He is of Russian-Jewish descent.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2010–11 Malmö Redhawks J18 124372 ————— 2010–11 Malmö Redhawks J18 Allsv 1546104 ————— 2011–12 Malmö Redhawks J18 9681414 42460 2011–12 Malmö Redhawks J20 4217254243 51452 2011–12 Malmö Redhawks Allsv 100110 30000 2012–13 Malmö Redhawks J18 12240 ————— 2012–13 Malmö Redhawks J18 Allsv 24262 43360 2012–13 Malmö Redhawks J20 133478 31238 2012–13 Malmö Redhawks Allsv 4347118 ————— 2013–14 Erie Otters OHL 5741468735 14103132 2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 539132210 112130 2014–15 Hershey Bears AHL 133476 11010 2015–16 Washington Capitals NHL 7917213812 121016 2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 6412233514 133362 2017–18 Washington Capitals NHL 5612132527 132464 2018–19 Washington Capitals NHL 7612132514 71120 2019–20 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5820254522 15710174 2020–21 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5319254410 101344 2021–22 Colorado Avalanche NHL 8022396118 123582 2022–23 Seattle Kraken NHL 4913263914 ————— 2023–24 Seattle Kraken NHL 49791614 ————— 2024–25 Seattle Kraken NHL 7910273712 ————— 2025–26 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 7511223316 ————— NHL totals 771 164 256 420 183 93 20 27 47 22

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2011 Sweden IH18 5 2 1 3 0 2012 Sweden U17 4th 6 4 4 8 4 2012 Sweden U18 60330 2012 Sweden IH18 5 3 3 6 16 2013 Sweden U18 5th 54154 2014 Sweden WJC 73470 2016 Sweden WC 6th 310112 2024 Sweden WC 1047110 Junior totals 34 16 16 32 24 Senior totals 13 5 7 12 12

Awards and honors Award Year RefNHL Stanley Cup champion 2018, 2022