Alex Galchenyuk

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.

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." His performance led to him being drafted number one in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection Draft by the Sarnia Sting.

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. 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. 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 and where he dominated by recording 27 goals and 34 assists in 33 games.

Professional
Galchenyuk made the Canadiens roster for the season opener, a 2–1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 19, 2013. He was the youngest player to play a full season with the Montreal Canadiens since 1984. 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. 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. 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. He scored his first career hat-trick on December 16, 2014, playing against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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. 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.

Awards and honors

 * MWEHL's Top Scorer with 87 points during the 2009–2010 season
 * 1st All-Rookie Team (OHL) for the 2010–11 OHL season