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
Azevedo with Lukko in 2012
Born (1988-04-01) April 1, 1988 (age 36)
West Lorne, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NL team
Former teams
ZSC Lions
Manchester Monarchs
Lukko Rauma
HC Lev Praha
Ak Bars Kazan
NHL draft 153rd overall, 2008
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 2008–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
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Kitchener Rangers OHL 58 18 21 39 39 15 3 1 4 14
2005–06 Kitchener Rangers OHL 60 29 40 69 80 5 0 3 3 12
2006–07 Kitchener Rangers OHL 50 17 39 56 42 9 4 11 15 22
2007–08 Kitchener Rangers OHL 67 43 81 124 69 20 10 26 36 33
2008–09 Manchester Monarchs AHL 49 12 24 36 31
2009–10 Manchester Monarchs AHL 46 14 13 27 31 16 3 6 9 12
2010–11 Manchester Monarchs AHL 79 18 35 53 71 7 3 7 10 10
2011–12 Manchester Monarchs AHL 63 28 22 50 37 4 1 1 2 4
2012–13 Lukko SM-l 58 20 38 58 88 14 10 8 18 6
2013–14 Lev Prague KHL 48 9 18 27 34 22 13 7 20 6
2014–15 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 58 17 33 50 48 20 5 6 11 18
2015–16 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 59 17 36 53 26 7 1 1 2 8
2016–17 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 54 13 21 34 34 15 3 7 10 8
2017–18 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 31 15 13 28 22 19 9 15 24 6
2018–19 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 62 13 25 38 42 4 0 4 4 2
2019–20 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 57 13 24 37 43 4 1 0 1 0
2020–21 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 30 5 17 22 24
2021–22 ZSC Lions NL 45 8 31 39 57 18 4 7 11 8
2022–23 ZSC Lions NL 31 6 10 16 43 8 1 6 7 4
AHL totals 237 72 94 166 170 27 7 14 21 26
KHL totals 399 102 187 289 273 91 32 40 72 48

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Canada Ontario U17 4th 6 2 4 6 8
2006 Canada U18 4th 7 4 4 8 20
Junior totals 13 6 8 14 28

Awards and honours

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Award Year
OHL
First All-Star Team 2008
Red Tilson Trophy 2008
Eddie Powers Trophy 2008
Wayne Gretzky 99 Award 2008
CHL First All-Star Team 2008
CHL Ed Chynoweth Trophy 2008
CHL Player of the Year 2008
Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2008 [6]
Liiga
All-Star Team 2013
KHL
First All-Star Team 2014, 2018
All-Star Game 2015
Gagarin Cup (Ak Bars Kazan) 2018 [7]
Playoff MVP 2018

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