Athanasiou, 23, completed his third full NHL season in 2017-18 and recorded a career-high 33 points (16-17-33) in 71 games, alongside 16 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound forward ranked among Red Wings leaders with 16 goals (T3rd), 17 assists (T9th), 33 points (T6th), 170 shots (5th) and 38 takeaways (T4th). He also tied an NHL record last season by scoring six seconds into an overtime period on Jan. 3 vs. Ottawa - becoming the fourth player to ever score an overtime winner that quickly and the first in the NHL's three-on-three overtime format (later equaled by Toronto's William Nylander) - which also established a Red Wings franchise record. In 172 NHL games for Detroit since 2015-16, Athanasiou has tallied 76 points (43-33-76) and 49 penalty minutes. He was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
A native of Woodbridge, Ontario, Athanasiou spent parts of three seasons with the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins (2013-16) prior to full-time NHL duty and totaled 51 points (25-26-51) and 34 penalty minutes in 83 games, adding 15 points (7-8-15) in 28 playoff games. Before his time with the Griffins, Athanasiou spent four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League between the London Knights and Barrie Colts, registering 221 points (111-110-221) and 125 penalty minutes in 252 games from 2010-14. He was a 2012 OHL Champion with London after establishing himself as an OHL Second All-Rookie Team Member in 2011. Athanasiou has also won a pair of gold medals for Canada Ontario at the 2011 IIHF World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and Canada at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
