Anton Levtchi (born 28 November 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing with Tappara in the Liiga.

Anton Levtchi
Born (1995-11-28) 28 November 1995 (age 28)
Varkaus, Finland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
Liiga team
Former teams
Tappara
Florida Panthers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

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Levtchi made his professional debut playing with his original club, Tappara of Liiga during the 2016–17 season.

In his sixth year in the Liiga with Tappara, Levtchi had a break-out 2021–22 season offensively, leading the Liiga in scoring in finishing tied first in goals with 26 and second in assists with 35 for 61 points through 55 regular season games. He helped lead Tappara to claim the Finnish Championship in claiming the Kanada-malja trophy.[1] He was selected to the Liiga All-Star Team and finished with the Liiga Golden Helmet.

As an undrafted free agent, Levtchi agreed to pursue a career in North America, signing a one-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on 15 June 2022.[2] By signing with the Panthers, Levtchi was reunited in joining former junior teammate and captain of the Panthers in Aleksander Barkov. After attending the Panthers training camp in preparation for the 2022–23 season, Levtchi was re-assigned to begin his transition to North America to American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Charlotte Checkers on 2 October 2022.[3]

Levtchi registered 13 points through 24 games with the Checkers before he received his first recall to the NHL by the Panthers on 28 December 2022. He made his NHL debut on 29 December 2022, featuring in a depth forward role in a 7-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.[4] Following his second appearance with the Panthers, Levtchi was returned to the AHL on 1 January 2023. Levtchi appeared in a further 11 games with the Checkers, before opting to be placed on unconditional waivers by the Panthers in order to mutually terminate his contract on 31 January 2023.[5]

On 1 February 2023, Levtchi returned to his native Finland, re-joining Tappara of the Liiga for the remainder of the season.[6]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Tappara Jr. A 7 0 1 1 4
2013–14 Tappara Jr. A 37 8 17 25 10 2 1 1 2 0
2014–15 Tappara Jr. A 47 17 25 42 46
2015–16 Tappara Jr. A 41 18 31 49 54 3 0 4 4 0
2015–16 LeKi Mestis 9 0 1 1 0
2016–17 Tappara Liiga 13 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Tappara Jr. A 3 0 5 5 0
2016–17 LeKi Mestis 35 11 17 28 35
2017–18 Tappara Liiga 17 0 1 1 4
2017–18 LeKi Mestis 27 9 15 24 14
2018–19 Tappara Liiga 59 4 19 23 18 11 2 1 3 18
2019–20 Tappara Liiga 59 13 33 46 20
2020–21 Tappara Liiga 49 16 29 45 20 9 1 2 3 16
2021–22 Tappara Liiga 55 26 35 61 46 14 1 9 10 14
2022–23 Charlotte Checkers AHL 35 8 9 17 6
2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Tappara Liiga 16 6 7 13 31 13 4 8 12 2
Liiga totals 268 65 124 189 139 47 8 20 28 50
NHL totals 2 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours

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Award Year
Liiga
All-Star Team 2022
Aarne Honkavaara trophy 2022
Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy 2022
Golden Helmet 2022
Kanada-malja (Tappara) 2022 [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Finnish championship goes to Tappara". International Ice Hockey Federation. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Forward Anton Levtchi". NHL.com. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Panthers assign 10 players to Charlotte Checkers". Florida Panthers. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Barkov quick hat-trick lifts Panthers over Canadiens". ESPN. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. ^ George Richards (30 January 2023). "Anton Levtchi leaving the Florida Panthers". floridahockeynow.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Anton Levtchi returns home to Tappara" (in Finnish). Tappara. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
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