Justin Azevedo

Justin Azevedo (born April 1, 1988) is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently playing for the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL).

Justin Azevedo
Born (1988-04-01) April 1, 1988 (age 36)
West Lorne, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
PositionCentre
ShootsRight
NL team
Former teams
ZSC Lions
Manchester Monarchs
Lukko Rauma
HC Lev Praha
Ak Bars Kazan
NHL draft153rd overall, 2008
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career2008–present

Playing career

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Junior

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Azevedo played his first OHL game on September 24, 2004 as a member of the Kitchener Rangers. During the 2007–08 OHL season, Azevedo won the Red Tilson Trophy for the most outstanding player in the OHL, Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy for being the top scorer in the OHL, Ed Chynoweth Trophy for being the top scorer of the Memorial Cup, CHL Player of the Year, CHL Top Scorer Award, and Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for being the most outstanding player in the OHL playoffs.

Professional

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Azevedo was drafted 153rd overall, in the 6th round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. As an older draft pick, Azevedo immediately turned professional and was signed by the Kings AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs on August 10, 2008.[1] After attending the Kings training camp on September 29, 2008, he was assigned to the Monarchs for the 2008–09 season.

Despite missing significant parts of the season with the Monarchs suffering two injuries, Azevedo scored 36 points in 49 games to earn a two-year entry level contract with the Kings on July 20, 2009.[2]

Azevedo was one of two players, alongside left wing Brandon Kozun, to be allowed a penalty shot in the same game during Manchester's 5-2 victory over the Providence Bruins, a franchise record for the Manchester Monarchs.

On June 7, 2012, he signed with Lukko Rauma, in the Finnish SM-liiga.[3] In his first European season in 2012–13, Azevedo made a comfortable transition with Lukko, leading the SM-Liiga amongst rookies with 38 assists and 58 points. Azevedo lead the entire league in playoffs scoring with 10 goals and 18 points in only 14 games to also earn a selection in the SM-liiga All-Star Team.

On April 15, 2013, Azevedo opted to play in the Kontinental Hockey League, signing a multi-year contract with Czech based club, HC Lev Praha for the 2013–14 season.[4] Azevedo contributed with 9 goals and 27 assists in 48 games for Lev before stepping up in the playoffs for a second consecutive season, to post 13 goals and 20 points in 22 games.

Despite reaching the Gagarin Cup finals, Lev announced they would not continue participation due to bankruptcy. On July 1, 2014, Azevedo was transferred to fellow KHL club, Ak Bars Kazan, in exchange for financial compensation.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2004–05Kitchener RangersOHL58182139391531414
2005–06Kitchener RangersOHL6029406980503312
2006–07Kitchener RangersOHL501739564294111522
2007–08Kitchener RangersOHL674381124692010263633
2008–09Manchester MonarchsAHL4912243631
2009–10Manchester MonarchsAHL46141327311636912
2010–11Manchester MonarchsAHL79183553717371010
2011–12Manchester MonarchsAHL632822503741124
2012–13LukkoSM-l582038588814108186
2013–14Lev PragueKHL48918273422137206
2014–15Ak Bars KazanKHL581733504820561118
2015–16Ak Bars KazanKHL591736532671128
2016–17Ak Bars KazanKHL54132134341537108
2017–18Ak Bars KazanKHL311513282219915246
2018–19Ak Bars KazanKHL621325384240442
2019–20Ak Bars KazanKHL571324374341010
2020–21Ak Bars KazanKHL305172224
2021–22ZSC LionsNL4583139571847118
2022–23ZSC LionsNL31610164381674
AHL totals2377294166170277142126
KHL totals3991021872892739132407248

International

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YearTeamEventResult GPGAPtsPIM
2005Canada OntarioU174th62468
2006CanadaU184th744820
Junior totals13681428

Awards and honours

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AwardYear
OHL
First All-Star Team2008
Red Tilson Trophy2008
Eddie Powers Trophy2008
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award2008
CHL First All-Star Team2008
CHL Ed Chynoweth Trophy2008
CHL Player of the Year2008
Memorial Cup All-Star Team2008[6]
Liiga
All-Star Team2013
KHL
First All-Star Team2014, 2018
All-Star Game2015
Gagarin Cup (Ak Bars Kazan)2018[7]
Playoff MVP2018

References

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  1. ^ "Monarchs signs two; assign one". Los Angeles Kings. 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  2. ^ "Kings sign Azevedo". Los Angeles Kings. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  3. ^ "Lukko nappasi Justin Azevedon" (in Finnish). Lukko Rauma. June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  4. ^ "Lev amour up for second season" (in Czech). HC Lev Praha. 2013-04-15. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  5. ^ "Kazan buy Azevedo, rights to Sekac". HC Lev Praha. 2014-07-01. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  6. ^ Memorial Cup All-Star Teams Archived 2016-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Ak Bars wins the Gagarin Cup". Kontinental Hockey League. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by CHL Player of the Year
2008
Succeeded by