Anton Levtchi (born 28 November 1995) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward currently playing with

Luleå HF Luleå Hockeyförening, also known as Luleå Hockey, is a professional ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are ...

in the SHL.

Playing career

Levtchi made his professional debut playing with his original club,

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

during the 2016–17 season. In his sixth year in the Liiga with Luleå, Sweden, Levtchi had a breakout 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 by claiming the

Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja, or Poika (Literally "''Boy''" or "''Son''"), is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish SM-liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish language, Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is s ...

trophy. 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 The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

on 15 June 2022. By signing with the Panthers, Levtchi was reunited in joining former junior teammate and captain of the Panthers in

Aleksander Barkov Aleksander Aleksandrovich "Sasha" Barkov (; born 2 September 1995) is a Finns, Finnish professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barkov wa ...

. After attending the Panthers' training camp in preparation for the season, Levtchi was re-assigned to begin his transition to North America to

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...

on 2 October 2022. 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 The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

. 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 to mutually terminate his contract on 31 January 2023. On 1 February 2023, Levtchi returned to his native Finland, re-joining Tappara of the Liiga for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levtchi, Anton 1995 births Living people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Finnish ice hockey forwards Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from North Savo Lempäälän Kisa players Sportspeople from Varkaus Tappara players Undrafted National Hockey League players