Sam Anas (Greek: Σαμ Ανας; born June 1, 1993) is a Greek-American professional ice hockey forward for HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). While growing up in Potomac, Maryland, he attended Landon School. Later, he attended Quinnipiac University. He became the second player that played in the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association (MYHA) to sign an NHL contract when he agreed to terms with the Minnesota Wild.

Sam Anas
Anas with the Iowa Wild in 2020
Born (1993-06-01) June 1, 1993 (age 31)
Potomac, Maryland, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 161 lb (73 kg; 11 st 7 lb)
Position Center / Right Wing
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams
Dinamo Minsk
Iowa Wild
Utica Comets
Springfield Thunderbirds
Hershey Bears
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

edit

Anas played for the NCAA Division I Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team in the ECAC Hockey conference. In his freshman year, Anas's outstanding play was rewarded when he was selected as 2014 ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and named to both the 2013–14 ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team and the All-ECAC Hockey Second Team. Anas was further honored when he was chosen as the 2014 College Hockey News Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore, he landed a spot on the AHCA/CCM Hockey All-American Second Team.[1]

He received AHCA/CCM Hockey Men's Division I All-America First Team honors following his junior year (2015–16),[2] while making the ECAC Hockey First Team,[3] the All-CollegeHockeyNews.com Second Team and the NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team.[4]

On April 15, 2016, Anas signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild.[5] This made him the first player born in the Washington, D.C., area who played hockey locally through high school and then signed with an NHL team.[6]

Anas won the American Hockey League's scoring title in 2019–20, but unable to crack the NHL with the Minnesota Wild during his highly successful tenure in the AHL with Iowa, Anas left as a free agent.[7] On October 10, 2020, Anas agreed to a two-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues.[8]

Following his stint in the Blues organization, Anas left as a free agent and signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears for the 2022–23 season on August 15, 2022.[9]

After his Calder Cup success with the Bears, Anas left the AHL as a free agent and opted to pursue a career abroad by signing a one-year deal with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, on July 10, 2023.[10]

Personal life

edit

Anas is of Greek descent, the son of Peter and Demetra Anas.[11] While at Quinnipiac University, Anas majored in business.[11] His mother Demetra died from breast cancer in August 2020.[12]

Career statistics

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Washington Little Capitals MetJHL 19 20 21 41 4
2011–12 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 51 17 17 34 14 6 0 4 4 4
2012–13 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 64 37 26 63 18 9 3 9 12 6
2013–14 Quinnipiac University ECAC 40 22 21 43 14
2014–15 Quinnipiac University ECAC 38 23 16 39 20
2015–16 Quinnipiac University ECAC 43 24 26 50 18
2016–17 Iowa Wild AHL 66 12 16 28 6
2017–18 Iowa Wild AHL 70 26 35 61 14
2018–19 Iowa Wild AHL 60 14 24 38 12 11 1 6 7 2
2019–20 Iowa Wild AHL 63 20 50 70 10
2020–21 Utica Comets AHL 23 4 19 23 2
2021–22 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 75 20 44 64 12 18 4 11 15 8
2022–23 Hershey Bears AHL 41 13 8 21 6 20 4 8 12 0
2023–24 Dinamo Minsk KHL 60 21 25 46 14 6 2 2 4 0
AHL totals 398 109 196 305 62 49 9 25 34 10

Awards and honors

edit
Award Year
College
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 2013–14 [13]
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2013–14 [14]
ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year 2013–14 [15]
College Hockey News Rookie of the Year 2013–14 [16]
NCAA Ice Hockey National Rookie of the Year 2013–14 [17]
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 2014–15
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2014–15
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2015–16
AHCA East First-Team All-American 2015–16
AHL
All-Star Game 2020 [18]
First All-Star Team 2020 [19]
John B. Sollenberger Trophy 2020
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award 2022
Calder Cup 2023 [20]

References

edit
  1. ^ "SAM ANAS". quinnipiacbobcats.com. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "American Hockey Coaches Association - Men's CCM Hockey Division I All-Americans Announced". ahcahockey.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  3. ^ "League Announces Postseason Awards - ECAC Hockey". www.ecachockey.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "QU Men's Ice Hockey's Sam Anas Named To All-CHN Team". Quinnipiac Bobcats. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "Wild Signs Sam Anas To Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract". wild.nhl.com. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "By signing with Minnesota Wild, Sam Anas becomes a rare MD native to reach pro". Washington Post. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Raby, Ben (May 18, 2020). "AHL scoring leader Sam Anas is about to become a free agent". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  8. ^ St. Louis Blues [@StLouisBlues] (October 10, 2020). "Another signing to announce. This time it's forward Sam Anas, signed to a two-year, two-way deal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Bears sign former AHL scoring Champion Sam Anas". Hershey Bears. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  10. ^ HC Dinamo Minsk (July 10, 2023). "Dinamo Minsk sign Sam Anas for 2022-23" (in Russian). Twitter. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Greek-American Sam Anas Named ECAC Hockey Co-Rookie of the Year". Greek Reporter USA. March 23, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "Toews makes donation to Hockey Fights Cancer for wedding". NHL.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  13. ^ "League Announces All-Conference & All-Rookie Teams – ECAC Hockey". Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  14. ^ "Conference Honors, 2013–14". Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  15. ^ "Quinnipiac's Sam Anas Named ECAC Hockey Co-Rookie of the Year". Youngstown Phantoms. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  16. ^ "CHN Rookie of the Year: Sam Anas – ECAC Hockey". Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  17. ^ "Former Phantom Sam Anas Named Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year for NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey". Youngstown Phantoms. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  18. ^ "Bracco, Liljegren added to All-Star roster". American Hockey League. January 26, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  20. ^ "Sweeter by the dozen: Hershey wins 12th Calder Cup". American Hockey League. June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
edit
Awards and achievements
Preceded by ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year
(co-winner with Gavin Bayreuther)

2013–14
Succeeded by
Preceded by Tim Taylor Award
2013–14
Succeeded by