Nikos Tselios

Nikos Tselios
Born (1979-01-20) January 20, 1979 (age 45)
Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Carolina Hurricanes
KalPa
Färjestads BK
NHL draft 22nd overall, 1997
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 1996–2007

Nikos Tselios (Greek: Νίκος Τσέλιος; born January 20, 1979) is a Greek-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Tselios became the first draft pick in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes when he was selected 22nd overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

As a youth, Tselios played in the 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Blackhawks minor ice hockey team.[1]

Tselios was the first draft pick for the inaugural Carolina Hurricanes in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. After he was drafted, Tselios returned to the OHL to play for the Belleville Bulls.[2]

Tselios made his NHL debut with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2001–02 season, playing two games.[3][2] Those would be the only NHL games he would play as he spent the next four seasons playing in the minor leagues. In October 2005, Tselios signed with KalPa of the Finnish SM-liiga and played with them until January 31, 2006, when he moved to Färjestads BK of the Swedish Elitserien. He scored his first goal at Färjestad on March 25 in the semifinal of the Swedish Championship against HV 71. He then played in the United Hockey League with the Chicago Hounds before returning to Sweden, signing with HK Örebro in the Swedish First Division, the country's third-tier level.[4]

Personal life

Tselios is a cousin of long-time NHL defenseman Chris Chelios.[5] Tselios also tried for the Greece national team in the 2006.

Tselios owns and operates an instructional hockey business called Infinity Hockey Selects, and resides in Illinois with his wife and son.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Chicago Young Americans Midget 27 5 8 13 40 — — — — —
1996–97 Belleville Bulls OHL 64 9 37 46 61 6 1 1 2 2
1997–98 Belleville Bulls OHL 20 2 10 12 16 — — — — —
1997–98 Plymouth Whalers OHL 41 20 8 28 27 15 1 8 9 27
1998–99 Plymouth Whalers OHL 60 21 39 60 60 11 4 10 14 8
1999–2000 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 80 3 19 22 75 10 0 2 2 4
2000–01 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 79 7 18 25 98 5 0 3 3 0
2001–02 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2001–02 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 70 3 16 9 64 — — — — —
2002–03 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 61 4 8 12 65 — — — — —
2002–03 Springfield Falcons AHL 13 0 2 2 12 6 0 0 0 4
2003–04 Springfield Falcons AHL 75 5 8 13 105 — — — — —
2004–05 Utah Grizzlies AHL 5 1 1 2 4 — — — — —
2004–05 Springfield Falcons AHL 35 3 6 9 37 — — — — —
2005–06 KalPa SM-l 21 0 3 3 67 — — — — —
2005–06 Färjestad BK SEL 7 0 0 0 10 11 1 0 1 12
2006–07 Chicago Hounds UHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2006–07 Örebro HK Div.1 8 3 4 7 2 2 2 0 2 14
2007–08 Örebro HK Div.1 32 4 13 17 132 3 1 0 1 25
NHL totals 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
AHL totals 259 16 41 57 287 6 0 0 0 4

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1997 United States WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 1 1 2 6
1998 United States WJC 5th 6 0 0 0 8
Junior totals 13 1 1 2 14

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  2. ^ a b MacNeil, Ian (March 27, 2017). "The Worst Defenseman In Every NHL Team's History". thesportster.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Pre-Game Skate: HURRICANES at ATLANTA". NHL.com. April 13, 2002. Retrieved June 28, 2018. Carolina defenseman Nikos Tselios made his NHL debut in the game.
  4. ^ Dahlberg, Martin (January 31, 2007). "Gahn och Leijon till Örebro". svenskafans.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "This Tselios Making His Name Known". Chicago Tribune. July 8, 1997. Retrieved June 28, 2018. "It's pronounced the same, but ours is the Greek spelling," says Nik Tselios, a cousin of Blackhawks captain Chris Chelios.
  6. ^ "2015 IHHF Bio Series: Nikos Tselios". ahaienews.com. 3 March 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
Preceded by Carolina Hurricanes first round draft pick
1997 		Succeeded by