Nick Suzuki

Nicholas Suzuki (born August 10, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and 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.

Amateur

Suzuki was drafted in the 1st round, 14th overall, in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection by the Owen Sound Attack. 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. 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. 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. At the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, Suzuki was nominated for the Red Tilson Trophy and the William Hanley Trophy. After the Owen Sound Attack were eliminated from the 2018 OHL playoffs, Suzuki was reassigned to the Knights' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. On October 12, 2021, he signed an eight-year, $63 million contract extension with the team. On October 3rd 2021, Suzuki was called by former NHL goaltender and current General Manager of Team Canada, Roberto Luongo, to inform him that he would be asked to join the 55-man long roster for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

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. He is fifth generation Japanese Canadian (Gosei) and is one-quarter Japanese on his father's side of the family. On his mother's side, he is of Scottish Canadian descent.

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2015	Canada White	U17			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