David Levin

David Levin (, ; born September 16, 1999) is an Israeli professional ice hockey player. He currently plays for CSM Corona Brașov in the Erste Liga (ice hockey).

He previously played for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and for Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Born in Israel, Levin initially only played inline hockey due to the scarcity of ice rinks in Israel. At the age of 12 he moved to Canada in order to pursue a hockey career, living with relatives in the Greater Toronto Area, and it was in Canada that Levin first played organized ice hockey. He was drafted first overall in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection, and began playing for the Wolves in the 2015–16 season. Internationally Levin has played for the Israel national team.

Personal life Levin was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Pavel and Lena Levin, and is Jewish. Pavel is originally from Riga, Latvia, and was a professional soccer player in Latvia before signing with Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. in 1990 and moving to Israel. He retired soon after due to a leg injury, and married Lena, who was from Moscow and moved to Netanya, Israel, and then to Zoran, Israel. David has a younger brother, Mike, who in 2018 as a 13-year-old had already received offers from the Vaughan Kings and Toronto Junior Canadians of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

Levin was eight years old when he first discovered North American ice hockey, as his father was watching an NHL game on TV. "I asked him what he's watching. He told me that's the best league in the world, so I told him that's my dream now," Levin told The Jerusalem Post. At home Levin spoke Russian, while in school he used Hebrew; prior to moving to Canada he did not speak any English, and in order to develop a facility with English he decided to not attend a Hebrew-language school.

Due to the scarcity of ice rinks in Israel, with the closest rink a four-hour drive, Levin grew up playing inline hockey at a roller rink in Netanya, starting when he was four-years-old. He played starting in 2010 in several tournaments in Europe for the Israeli national inline team, winning awards in the process, but desired to play ice hockey instead. While he tried skating at the Canada Center in Metula, it did not go well and his ice hockey dream faded until he saw a YouTube clip of the development of player Sidney Crosby.

As an Israeli citizen, Levin is required to serve three years with the Israel Defence Forces, and had to register for the draft when he turned 18 in September 2017.

Playing career Levin attended The Hill Academy in Vaughan, just north of Toronto, a school known for developing elite sports talent. Sudbury coach David Matsos said: "You can teach a lot of things. You can teach kids how to skate better, put weight on and do those sorts of things in the weight room. But you can't teach hockey sense. This guy thinks at a different level. He is probably one of the most elite, skilled players that I've seen." He also playing 5 games for Canada Black in the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

In the 2017–18 season, he was an alternate captain on Sudbury, and had an injury-plagued season and fell to 29 points in 46 games.

In the 2018–19 season, he sustained a knee injury in late October 2018 that resulted in him missing the majority of the second half of the season. As of 2020, he had the eighth-most games played in a Wolves uniform, at 259. After playing 14 games and scoring 1 goal in the KHL, he moved to HC Zemgale/LUA of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. He ended the season in Kristianstads IK, the last-placed team in the HockeyAllsvenskan, and helped them avoid relegation to the Hockeyettan with a win in a survival play-in series.

On July 22, 2021, Levin signed with the Bratislava Capitals of the ICE Hockey League. Following his tenure with Bratislava, in September 2022, Levin agreed to terms with UK EIHL side Nottingham Panthers.

For the 2023–24 season, Levin moved to Romania to join Erste Liga side HSC Csíkszereda.

International play In 2015 Levin was invited to try out at the Hockey Canada under-17 development camp, and was selected to play on one of the three teams Canada sent to the World U-17 Hockey Challenge. At the 2015 tournament he recorded one assist in five games. The World U-17 Hockey Challenge is not sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), so Levin is not regarded as a Canadian for international play, and is still eligible to play for the Israel men's national ice hockey team; however, he has expressed an interest to play for Canada in the future. He joined the Israeli national team for the 2023 World Championship Division IIA tournament.

Playing style When he first joined Sudbury, Levin was praised for his offensive skills. Throughout his time with the Wolves, Levin was recognized for his hockey sense. David Matsos, his coach there, called him "one of the most elite, skilled players" he'd ever seen; this Levin credited to his father, who served as his first coach in Israel and runs a hockey school there.

Awards and achievements OHL Awards Year Jack Ferguson Award 2015