Alex Galchenyuk

For his father, the retired Belarusian ice hockey player, see Alexander Galchenyuk.
Alex Galchenyuk
Born (1994-02-12) February 12, 1994
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team Montreal Canadiens
National team  United States
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 2012
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2012–present

Alexander Alexandrovich "Alex" Galchenyuk (born February 12, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted third overall by the Canadiens in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft following two years with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Of Belarusian descent, Galchenyuk has represented the United States on the international stage, including at the IIHF World U20 Championship and the Ice Hockey World Championships, winning gold and bronze medals, respectively.

Playing career

Minor and junior

Galchenyuk played his final year of minor hockey with the U16 Chicago Young Americans and quickly became a star player, tallying 44 goals and 43 assists, leading coach Bruno Bragagnolo to refer to winning a lottery ticket as "the odds of having another kid like Alex play for you."[1] His performance led to him being drafted number one in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection Draft by the Sarnia Sting.[2]

Galchenyuk was also selected 25th overall in the 2011 KHL Junior Draft by Atlant Moscow Oblast, which caused his father, Alexander Galchenyuk, to express his displeasure in Alex not being drafted in the first round by the KHL's Belarusian team, Dinamo Minsk.

In his first season with the Sting, Galchenyuk tallied 31 goals and 52 assists for a total of 83 points, which led to him being selected to the OHL 1st All-Rookie team alongside teammate Nail Yakupov. The following year he missed all but two regular-season games and six playoff games with a knee injury.[3] He was selected third in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

On July 23, 2012, Galchenyuk signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens.[4] During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he played for Sarnia in the OHL, where he served as captain of the team during his final season for the Sting.[5]

Professional

Galchenyuk made the Canadiens roster for the season opener, a 2–1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 19, 2013.[6] He scored his first NHL goal on January 22, 2013, against Scott Clemmensen of the Florida Panthers, tipping in a shot from Brandon Prust; rookie teammate Brendan Gallagher also recorded his first NHL point, an assist.[7] Galchenyuk finished the season playing in all 48 games with nine goals, 18 assists for 27 points and a plus-minus rating of +14, playing primarily on the left wing of the third line.[8][9] He finished in the top ten in all three offensive categories among rookies, and was sixth overall in rookie points scoring, helping propel a resurgent Canadiens team to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.[10]

Galchenyuk with the Canadiens during the 2012–13 season.

He scored his first career hat-trick on December 16, 2014, playing against the Carolina Hurricanes.[11]

On July 30, 2015 the Canadiens and Galchenyuk agreed to terms on a 2-year contract extension, worth $5.6 million.

Personal life

Galchenyuk was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to former Soviet and Belarusian hockey player Alexander Galchenyuk, and a Belarusian mother. He has an older sister, Anna. Galchenyuk's father was a member of the International Hockey League (IHL)'s Milwaukee Admirals at the time of his birth.[12] They moved to Europe when Galchenyuk was four, following his father's hockey career in Germany, Italy and Russia. They eventually settled in Russia, where the younger Galchenyuk began his hockey career before moving back to North America when he was 15, first to Chicago, Illinois, and then to Sarnia, Ontario, where Alex Galchenyuk, Sr. coaches.

Galchenyuk speaks three languages: Russian, Italian and English.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Chicago Young Americans MWEHL 38 44 43 87 56 — — — — —
2010–11 Sarnia Sting OHL 68 31 52 83 52 — — — — —
2011–12 Sarnia Sting OHL 2 0 0 0 0 6 2 2 4 4
2012–13 Sarnia Sting OHL 33 27 34 61 22 — — — — —
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 9 18 27 20 5 1 2 3 0
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 65 13 18 31 26 5 2 1 3 2
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 20 26 46 39 12 1 3 4 10
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 30 26 56 20 — — — — —
NHL totals 275 72 88 160 105 22 4 6 10 12
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Ice hockey
IIHF World U20 Championship
2013 Russia
World Championships
2013 Stockholm/Helsinki

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2013 United States WJC 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 2 6 8 4
2013 United States WC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 4 2 0 2 0
Junior totals 7 2 6 8 4
Senior totals 4 2 0 2 0

Awards and honors

Award Year
Jack Ferguson Award[13] (OHL) 2010
Molson Cup (Montreal Canadiens')[14] 2016

References

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Nathan Beaulieu		 Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick
2012 		Succeeded by
Michael McCarron
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