Nicholas Suzuki (born August 10, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Vegas Golden Knights selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Early life
Suzuki was born on August 10, 1999, in London, Ontario, to parents Rob and Amanda Suzuki. He suffered from several health conditions as a child, including hand, foot, and mouth disease, several bouts of pneumonia due to respiratory syncytial virus, and recurrent ear infections, the latter of which required surgery to insert tympanostomy tubes. Suzuki's health improved as he grew older, and he began ice skating at the age of three. He befriended his neighbour Isaac Ratcliffe, and the two began playing sports together when they were eight: ice hockey in the winter, and golf and soccer in the summer. Suzuki and Ratcliffe went on to play minor ice hockey together for the London Jr. Knights, where they took the team to the semifinals in the OHL Cup. After leading the league with 34 goals and 68 points in 31 games, Suzuki was named the Alliance Hockey Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season.
Playing career
Amateur
Owen Sound Attack (2015–2018)
The Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) drafted Suzuki in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2015 OHL Priority Selection, and he signed with the team that June. Suzuki made an immediate impact on the Attack, with two goals and one assist through the first three games of the 2015–16 season. This included his first career junior ice hockey goal against the Kitchener Rangers on September 25. After finishing the first half of his rookie season with an overtime goal against the London Knights, Suzuki scored his first OHL hat-trick on January 30, when Owen Sound defeated the Ottawa 67's 5–2. Suzuki scored his 20th goal of the year in the last regular-season game, a 7–3 loss to Kitchener, becoming the first Attack rookie to score 20 goals in his 16-year-old season since Joey Hishon in 2008. He finished the year with 38 points in 63 games and was the only 16-year-old in the OHL to score 20 or more goals. He added two more goals in six postseason games before the Knights eliminated Owen Sound in the first round. At the end of the season, Suzuki was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team at centre.
Entering the 2016–17 season, Suzuki, who had a goal and an assist in his first four games, was named a Player to Watch by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. By mid-December, Suzuki was eighth in the OHL with 43 points and had already tied his previous season high of 20 goals. He was subsequently named to Team Cherry at the 2017 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He was the top-ranked member of the Attack in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's mideterm report, named the number 16 North American skating prospect. Suzuki moved up to 10th in the final Central Scouting Rankings after ending the regular season with 45 goals and 96 points in 65 games. He added an additional eight goals and 23 points in 17 postseason games as the Attack reached the OHL Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Erie Otters in six games. At the end of his sophomore season, Suzuki was named to the OHL All-Star Second Team, and he also received both the William Hanley Trophy and the CHL Sportsman of the Year award after recording only 10 penalty minutes in 65 games. That June, the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Suzuki in the first round, 13th overall of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on July 15.
The Golden Knights invited Suzuki to their preseason training camp before returning him to Owen Sound on September 22. Upon his return, Suzuki was named an assistant captain for the Attack. Suzuki recorded several milestones over the course of the 2017–18 season. On February 3, he registered his 200th OHL point with an assist on Kevin Hancock's goal against the Kitchener Rangers. His 100th OHL goal came on March 10, in a 3–0 win over the Saginaw Spirit. One week later, Suzuki earned his 100th point of the season, scoring two goals and recording an assist against the Sarnia Sting. He became the fifth Attack player in history to record a 100-point season, and the first since Bobby Ryan during the 2006–07 season. Suzuki finished his third OHL season with 42 goals and 58 assists in 64 games, and he was awarded his second consecutive William Hanley Trophy after recording only 18 penalty minutes during the season.