Christopher Tanev

Christopher Tanev (born December 20, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Unselected in the NHL Entry Draft, he was signed by the Canucks as a free agent after his freshman year with the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers. In his only college season, he was named Atlantic Hockey's Rookie of the Year, in addition to receiving All-Tournament and Third All-Star Team honours, while helping the Tigers to a conference championship. Prior to college, he played three seasons in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL).

Early life
Tanev was born in East York, Ontario, Canada to Sophie Meredith and Mike Tanev. He has two brothers, Brandon and Kyle. Cut from seven midget-level teams at age 16 due to a lack of size, Tanev resorted to playing for his high school's team and took up roller hockey in the summer. After graduating from high school at the East York Collegiate Institute, he enrolled in the Rochester Institute of Technology as a finance major while playing college hockey.

Minor hockey
Tanev played his minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Hockey League mostly for the Toronto Red Wings and Mississauga Rebels before dropping out of Rep hockey at age 15 after playing Bantam AAA.

Junior and college
Tanev played in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL) for three seasons. Starting off with the Durham Fury in 2006–07, he recorded no goals and nine assists over 40 games. He split the following season between Durham, the Stouffville Spirit and the Markham Waxers 17 points (2 goals and 15 assists) over 49 games between the three teams. Playing the 2008–09 campaign with Markham, he led all team defencemen in scoring with 41 points in 50 games, while serving as an alternate captain; he was named the team's top defenceman at the end of the season.

In 2009–10, he joined the NCAA Division I ranks with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Placed on the team's top defensive pairing with team captain Dan Ringwald, he recorded 10 goals and 28 points over 41 games, while leading his team with a +33 plus-minus rating. After being named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week on three occasions during the season, he received Rookie of the Year honours and was named to the conference's All-Rookie and Third All-Star Teams. In the 2010 playoffs, Tanev helped the Tigers to a conference championship, defeating the Sacred Heart Pioneers in the final. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. Advancing to the NCAA tournament, RIT was eliminated in the national semifinal by the Wisconsin Badgers. Tigers head coach Wayne Wilson described him during his freshman year as a "late bloomer", having grown six inches in his final year of junior, while praising his offensive skills.

Vancouver Canucks
During the NCAA tournament, Tanev was scouted by Vancouver Canucks director of player development Dave Gagner, who was previously acquainted with Tanev as his childhood roller hockey coach. The Canucks scouting staff collectively identified him as "the smartest player on the ice" in the East Regional segment of the tournament. On May 31, 2010, Tanev was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Canucks, foregoing his final three years of college hockey eligibility.

Beginning the 2010–11 season with the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL), he scored his first professional goal against the Rochester Americans on November 13, 2010. He received his first call-up to Vancouver on January 16, 2011, after injuries to Canucks defencemen Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome. Making his Canucks debut two days later against the Colorado Avalanche, he became the first RIT alumnus to play in the NHL. He later recorded his first NHL point on January 24, a second assist on a Dan Hamhuis powerplay goal, the final Canucks tally in a a 7–1 win against the Dallas Stars. He remained with the NHL team for an extended period as Canucks defencemen continued to suffer injuries.

On March 31, 2011, Tanev had to be helped off the ice during a game against the Los Angeles Kings after opposing forward Kyle Clifford pushed him head-first into the end-boards. While recovering from the upper-body injury, he was returned to the Moose on April 7, as several regular defencemen were set to return to the Canucks lineup from injury, as well. Averaging 13 minutes of ice time per game over 29 NHL contests with one assist, Tanev was commended by Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault for being "very dependable...making the high-percentage plays." Vigneault also added that he had a good chance of playing with the Canucks "on a regular basis down the road." Completing the 2010–11 regular season with the Moose, he finished with 1 goal and 8 assists over 39 AHL games. Tanev added a goal and two assists in 14 playoff games as the Moose were defeated in the second round. Following Manitoba's elimination, he was called up to the Canucks for their playoff run as a reserve. In the Canucks' Game 3 contest against the San Jose Sharks in the third round, defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome were both injured. Tanev was inserted into the lineup for the following game, making his NHL playoff debut on May 22, 2011. Tanev then made his Stanley Cup Final debut on June 10, 2011.