André Burakovsky

Swedish ice hockey player (born 1995)

Ice hockey player

André Burakovsky

Burakovsky in 2023

Born|  (1995-02-09) 9 February 1995 (age 29)
Klagenfurt, Austria
Height|  6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight|  201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position|  Left wing
Shoots|  Left
NHL team
Former teams|  Seattle Kraken
Washington Capitals
Colorado Avalanche
National team|  Sweden
NHL draft|  23rd overall, 2013
Washington Capitals
Playing career|  2011-present

André Burakovsky (also stylized as Burakowsky; born 9 February 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Washington Capitals, who drafted him 23rd overall in 2013, along with the Colorado Avalanche, who acquired his rights and consequently signed him during the 2019 offseason. Burakovsky is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Capitals in 2018 and the Avalanche in 2022.

## Playing career

[edit]

Burakovsky was selected in the third round (102nd overall) by SKA Saint Petersburg in the 2012 KHL Junior Draft, and was selected by the Capitals in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Burakovsky made his professional debut during the 2011–12 season with the Malmö Redhawks of HockeyAllsvenskan when he was just 16 years old.[2] He won a silver medal playing with Team Sweden at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships.[3]

On 4 September 2013, Burakovsky signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals.[4] He then joined the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2013–14 season.[5]

### Washington Capitals (2014–2019)

[edit]

Burakovsky with the Capitals in April 2016.

Burakovsky scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut on 9 October 2014, against Dustin Tokarski of the Montreal Canadiens. He became the second-fastest Capitals player to score their first career NHL goal, and the 13th Capitals player to score in his NHL debut.[6] In 2015–16 he appeared in 79 games, scored 17 goals, and had 21 assists.

On 22 January 2017, against the Dallas Stars, Burakovsky scored the game's first goal for the fourth consecutive game, tying the NHL record for the most consecutive team games scoring the first goal.[7] The last player to achieve this was Jonathan Cheechoo during the 2007–08 NHL season.[8]

On 4 July 2017, he agreed to a 2-year, $6-million contract with the Washington Capitals.[9] During the 2017–18 season, on 24 October 2017, Burakovsky required surgery on his thumb after it was injured in a game against the Florida Panthers and was expected to miss six to eight weeks.[10][11] He returned to the Capitals lineup on 8 December 2017 after missing 20 games.[12] Burakovsky was sidelined with an injury during the 2018 playoffs and missed the remainder of the Capitals first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.[13] After missing 10 playoff games, and going pointless upon returning, Burakovsky scored two goals in Game 7 against Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning to help send the Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.[14] He admitted to hiring a sports psychologist, saying, "I think when I'm doing something bad, I'm thinking about it for a long time, and it just sits in my head. That's something I have to work on in the summer."[15] Despite his struggles, Burakovsky won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals on 7 June 2018 after beating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals.[16]

### Colorado Avalanche (2019–2022)

[edit]

Burakovsky with the Avalanche in January 2020

On 28 June 2019, Burakovsky was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Scott Kosmachuk and a second and third-round pick in 2020.[17] On 15 July 2019, Burakovsky agreed to his qualifying offer, accepting a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Avalanche.[18] After attending his first training camp with Colorado, Burakovsky made his debut with the Avalanche in the opening game of the 2019–20 season against the Calgary Flames on 3 October 2019, registering an assist.[19] Relied to provide in an increased role from his tenure with the Capitals, Burakovsky responded by securing a role among the top six forwards, reaching the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career in placing third on the team in scoring with a career high 45 points through 58 regular season games. He collected a career-high four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on 4 February 2020.[20] Missing 13 games through injury, Burakovsky returned from the COVID-19 pandemic pause in the playoffs to notch seven goals and 17 points in only 15 post-season games. He notched two points in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, however was unable to help Colorado past the Dallas Stars after they were defeated by the Stars in game seven in overtime for a 4–3 series defeat.[21]

On 10 October 2020, as a restricted free agent, Burakovsky was signed a two-year, $9.8 million contract extension with the Avalanche.[22] In the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Burakovsky continued in his second-line role primarily playing alongside Nazem Kadri and Brandon Saad. He made his 400th NHL appearance in a 3–2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on 26 February 2021.[23] He collected his 100th career goal on 10 May 2021, against the Vegas Golden Knights and finished the regular season with the Presidents' Trophy winning Avalanche, just one goal and one point short of his previous season totals with 19 goals and 44 points through 53 games.[24] He was unable to replicate his previous playoff form with the Avalanche in the 2021 playoffs, registering one goal and three assists for 4 points through 10 games as the Avalanche swept the St. Louis Blues in the first round before a second-round defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.

On 12 December 2021, Burakovsky scored his first career hat trick in a game against the Florida Panthers at Ball Arena.[25] In the 2022 playoffs, the Avalanche swept the Nashville Predators in the first round, before beating the St. Louis Blues in the second round to advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time in twenty years. Burakovsky was scratched from two games in the second round series.[26] They defeated the Edmonton Oilers in four games to advance to the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, the second Cup Finals of Burakovsky's career, though he suffered an injury while shot-blocking that caused him to miss two games.[26][27] Returning to the lineup for Game 1 of the Finals against the two time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Burakovsky scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, only his second of the playoffs to that point.[26] He scored again in a 7–0 victory in Game 2, but sustained a broken thumb thereafter which held him out of the lineup as the Avalanche would become Stanley Cup champions, defeating the Lightning in six games.[28]

### Seattle Kraken (2022–present)

[edit]

Burakovsky with the Kraken in December 2022

As a free agent following the conclusion of his contract with the Avalanche, on 13 July 2022, Burakovsky was signed to a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Seattle Kraken.[29] He played the first half of the 2022–23 season before suffering a season-ending injury on 7 February against the New York Islanders. He tore his groin muscle during the game and then suffered rehabilitation setbacks resulting in the conclusion of his season.[30] He returned to the Kraken roster for the 2023–24 season[30] but only played in six games before suffering another injury.[31]

## Personal life

[edit]

Burakovsky was born in Klagenfurt, in southern Austria where his father was playing ice hockey at the time, but grew up in Malmö, Sweden, his father's hometown.[32][33] His father is Robert Burakovsky, who was drafted 217th overall 1985 NHL Entry Draft and played 23 games with the Ottawa Senators in the 1993–94 season.[34][35] His mother is Pernilla Burakovsky.[2][36] He has two sisters, Alexandra Burakovsky and Anna Burakovsky. His cousin, Samuel Burakovsky, is a professional footballer for Landskrona BoIS in the Swedish second division. He is of Russian-Jewish descent.[37]

## International play

[edit]

Medal record

Representing  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Championships
| 2024 Czech Republic |
World Junior Championships
| 2014 Sweden |

Burakovsky represented Sweden at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a bronze medal.

## Career statistics

[edit]

### Regular season and playoffs

[edit]

|  | Regular season |  | Playoffs

|
|
|
|

Season | Team  | League  | GP  | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM
2010–11  | Malmö Redhawks | J18 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2010–11  | Malmö Redhawks  | J18 Allsv  | 15 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4  | — | — | — | — | —
2011–12  | Malmö Redhawks  | J18  | 9 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 14  | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0
2011–12  | Malmö Redhawks  | J20 | 42 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 43  | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2
2011–12 | Malmö Redhawks  | Allsv | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0  | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
2012–13  | Malmö Redhawks  | J18  | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
2012–13  | Malmö Redhawks  | J18 Allsv  | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2  | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0
2012–13  | Malmö Redhawks  | J20  | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8  | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8
2012–13 | Malmö Redhawks  | Allsv  | 43 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8  | — | — | — | — | —
2013–14 | Erie Otters | OHL | 57 | 41 | 46 | 87 | 35  | 14 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 2
2014–15 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 53 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 10  | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0
2014–15 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6  | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
2015–16 | Washington Capitals  | NHL  | 79 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 12  | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6
2016–17 | Washington Capitals  | NHL  | 64 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 14  | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2
2017–18 | Washington Capitals  | NHL  | 56 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 27  | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4
2018–19 | Washington Capitals  | NHL  | 76 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 14  | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0
2019–20 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL  | 58 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 22  | 15 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 4
2020–21 | Colorado Avalanche  | NHL  | 53 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 10  | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4
2021–22 | Colorado Avalanche  | NHL  | 80 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 18  | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2
2022–23 | Seattle Kraken | NHL  | 49 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 14  | — | — | — | — | —
2023–24 | Seattle Kraken  | NHL  | 49 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 14  | — | — | — | — | —
NHL totals  | 617  | 143  | 207  | 350  | 155  | 93  | 20  | 27  | 47  | 22

### International

[edit]

Year  | Team  | Event  | Result  |  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2011 | Sweden | IH18 |  | 5  | 2  | 1  | 3  | 0
2012 | Sweden  | U17 | 4th  | 6  | 4  | 4  | 8  | 4
2012 | Sweden  | U18 |  | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0
2012 | Sweden  | IH18  |  | 5  | 3  | 3  | 6  | 16
2013 | Sweden  | U18  | 5th  | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4
2014 | Sweden | WJC |  | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0
2016 | Sweden | WC | 6th  | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12
Junior totals  | 34  | 16  | 16  | 32  | 24
Senior totals  | 3  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 12

## Awards and honors

[edit]

Award  | Year  | Ref

|
|

NHL
Stanley Cup champion  | 2018, 2022 | [38][39]

## See also

[edit]

* List of select Jewish ice hockey players

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Andre Burakovsky prospect profile". HockeysFuture.com. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
2. ^ a b "2013 NHL Draft Profile & Scouting Report: Andre Burakowsky". DefendingBigD.com. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
3. ^ "Duo set to lead Sweden at U18's". FutureConsiderations.com. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
4. ^ "Capitals sign Andre Burakovsky". Washington Capitals. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
5. ^ "Predicting the next 5 Capitals prospects to arrive in the NHL". bleacherreport.com. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
6. ^ Larimer, Sarah (10 October 2014). "Caps rookie Andre Burakovsky scores, celebrates like Alex Ovechkin in NHL debut". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
7. ^ Khurshudyan, Isabelle (22 January 2017). "With rediscovered touch, Andre Burakovsky shows a knack for getting on the board first". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
8. ^ "POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 4, Stars 3 (OT)". 22 January 2017.
9. ^ "Capitals ink Burakovsky to 2-year, $6M deal". The Sports Network. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
10. ^ Khurshudyan, Isabelle (24 October 2017). "Capitals' Andre Burakovsky has thumb surgery, expected to miss six to eight weeks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
11. ^ "Burakovsky of Capitals to miss 6-8 weeks". NHL.com. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
12. ^ Vogel, Mike (8 December 2017). "#CapsRangers Skate Shavings: You Again". NHL.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
13. ^ Gulitti, Tom (20 April 2018). "Burakovsky out rest of first round for Capitals against Blue Jackets". NHL.com. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
14. ^ Long, Corey (24 May 2018). "Burakovsky redeems himself in Capitals Game 7 win against Lightning". NHL.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
15. ^ Dougherty, Jesse (23 May 2018). "Game 7 swung on the unlikely stick of Andre Burakovsky". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
16. ^ McNally, Brian (8 June 2018). "Capitals carried by Ovechkin in triumphant run to Stanley Cup". NHL.com. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
17. ^ "Burakovsky traded to Avalanche by Capitals". National Hockey League. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
18. ^ "Avalanche signs Andre Burakovsky". Colorado Avalanche. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
19. ^ "Avalanche opens new season with Victory over Flames". Colorado Avalanche. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
20. ^ "Burakovsky's fluke goal sparks Avalanche in win over Sabres". ESPN. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
21. ^ O'Brien, James (4 September 2020). "Stars win Game 7 OT thriller vs. Avalanche; Joel Kiviranta unlikely hat trick hero". NBC Sports. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
22. ^ "Avalanche re-sign Andre Burakovsky to a two-year deal". Colorado Avalanche. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
23. ^ "Avalanche hold on in final seconds for 3-2 victory over Coyotes". ESPN. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
24. ^ "Avalanche top Golden Knights". ESPN. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
25. ^ Fredrickson, Kyle (12 December 2021). "Andre Burakovsky hat trick propels Avalanche to victory over Panthers". Denver Post. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
26. ^ a b c Wiebe, Ken (16 June 2022). "Kuemper, Avalanche battle for 'resilient win' in Cup Final opener". Sportsnet. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
27. ^ "Avalanche sweep Oilers, advance to Stanley Cup Final". Washington Post. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
28. ^ Chambers, Mike (26 June 2022). "Avalanche's Andre Burakovsky played with broken ankle. He couldn't get back from broken thumb". Denver Post. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
29. ^ "Four Cups, Three new Kraken". Seattle Kraken. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
30. ^ a b Baker, Geoff (28 September 2023). "Kraken's Andre Burakovsky returns after 8 months since last full NHL game". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
31. ^ "Kraken's Burakovsky out 6-8 weeks with upper-body injury". Sportsnet. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
32. ^ Carrera, Katie (30 June 2013). "NHL draft 2013: Capitals choose forward Andre Burakovsky with 23rd pick". Washington Post. Washington. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
33. ^ Andre Burakovsky credits his father for his NHL success - Eurohockey.com
34. ^ Prewitt, Alex (13 February 2015). "Capitals rookie Andre Burakovsky benefited from his father's tough love". The Washington Post. Los Angeles. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
35. ^ "Robert Burakovsky". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
36. ^ "Burakovsky scores, but Caps lose opener to Habs in 2-1 shootout". Comcast SportsNet Washington. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
37. ^ "Jews in the News: Gwyneth Paltrow, Albert Brooks and Genevieve Angelson". jewishtampa. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
38. ^ "The Washington Capitals, after years of frustration, win the Stanley Cup". The New York Times. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
39. ^ "Colorado Avalanche win first Stanley Cup since 2001 with Game 6 comeback". ESPN. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements

Preceded by

Tom Wilson

|  Washington Capitals first round draft pick
2013 | Succeeded by

Jakub Vrána