Andreas Athanasiou

Andreas Athanasiou ( ; born August 6, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a centre. He most recently played for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Athanasiou was drafted 110th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 NHL entry draft.

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. 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 conference finals 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 before the 2012 NHL entry 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 during the Calder Cup 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 Grand Rapids Griffins, and made his AHL debut on April 18, in a game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

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. On November 10, in his second NHL game, Athanasiou scored his first career NHL goal against Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals. On February 5, 2016, Athanasiou was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings. Before being recalled, he recorded eight goals and eight assists in 26 games for the Griffins.

On April 30, 2016, Athanasiou was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. 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 in exchange for Sam Gagner and a second-round draft pick in 2020 and 2021. He registered 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 regular season games before the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In return for the post-season, Athanasiou went scoreless in four games as the Oilers failed to make it through the play-in round and missed 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 contract with the Los Angeles Kings. On July 28, 2021, Athanasiou signed a one-year, $2.7 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

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. On June 7, 2023, Athanasiou signed a two-year extension with the Blackhawks worth $4,250,000 AAV. On November 24, 2024, after being a healthy scratch for much of the start of the year, the Blackhawks assigned Athanasiou to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

International play

Athanasiou was part of the gold medal-winning Ontario team at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. 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 and Guyanese descent. His father is a pilot with Air Canada.

In 2017, Athanasiou adopted a vegan diet.

From 2019 to 2025, Athanasiou dated professional golfer Nelly Korda.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2009–10 Toronto Titans GTHL 56 24 34 58 32 — — — — — 2010–11 London Knights OHL 57 11 11 22 21 6 0 0 0 0 2011–12 London Knights OHL 63 22 15 37 22 11 1 4 5 0 2012–13 Barrie Colts OHL 66 29 38 67 30 22 12 13 25 11 2013–14 Barrie Colts OHL 66 49 46 95 52 — — — — — 2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 1 2 3 0 6 0 1 1 6 2014–15 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 55 16 16 32 25 16 5 4 9 6 2015–16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 26 8 8 16 9 6 2 3 5 2 2015–16 Detroit Red Wings NHL 37 9 5 14 5 5 1 0 1 0 2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 18 11 29 28 — — — — — 2017–18 Detroit Red Wings NHL 71 16 17 33 16 — — — — — 2018–19 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 30 24 54 38 — — — — — 2019–20 Detroit Red Wings NHL 46 10 14 24 26 — — — — — 2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 9 1 1 2 4 4 0 0 0 2 2020–21 Los Angeles Kings NHL 47 10 13 23 27 — — — — — 2021–22 Los Angeles Kings NHL 28 11 6 17 4 6 1 0 1 4 2022–23 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 20 20 40 34 — — — — — 2023–24 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 28 2 7 9 7 — — — — — 2024–25 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 8 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2024–25 Rockford IceHogs AHL 30 11 16 27 18 — — — — — NHL totals 495 128 118 246 189 15 2 0 2 6

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2011 Canada Ontario U17 5 2 3 5 2 2011 Canada IH18 5 3 1 4 0 Junior totals 10 5 4 9 2

Awards and honours Award YearOHL Second All-Rookie Team 2011 CHL Top Prospects Game 2012 International U17 Tournament All-Star Team 2011