Max Sasson (born September 5, 2000) is an American 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hocke ...

of the

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) as a

prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He played two seasons of

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

for the

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's coll ...

Early life

Sasson was born September 5, 2000, in

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor (M-1 (Michigan highway), M-1). As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 censu ...

, to Alan and Ellen Sasson. Sasson spent his

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

career with the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huski ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL). During two seasons there, he recorded 19 goals and 23 assists in 107 regular season games. When the

August 2020 Midwest derecho On August 10 and 11, 2020, an extremely powerful progressive derecho devastated much of the Midwestern United States, primarily eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. It caused high winds and spawned an outbreak of weak torna ...

caused severe damage to ImOn Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Sasson was dispersed to the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under Head Coach Matt Smaby. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa. History ...

for the

2020–21 USHL season The 2020–21 USHL season was the 42nd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous season was curtailed on March 12, 2020, without holding a playoff or awarding a Clar ...

. There, he led the team with 20 goals and 49

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

in 49 games.

Career

College

After leaving the USHL, Sasson joined the

for his

career. He was named the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a ...

(NCHC) rookie of the month for January 2022 after recording two goals and five points in a four-game span. After a slow start to his freshman year, recording only three points through his first 18 games, Sasson began producing in the second half, finishing the 2021–22 season with nine goals and 22 points in 37 games. He was also named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, maintaining a

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

of at least 3.50 that year. During the 2022–23 season, Sasson was the Broncos' top-line center, playing on a line with Ryan McAllister and Jason Polin. That season, he was third on the team with 42 points, including 15 goals, and led the Broncos to their best NCHC finish in program history. He was the NCHC Player of the Month for March 2023, with ten points in five games, including a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

against the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference ...

. In two seasons with Western Michigan, Sasson had 24 goals and 64 points in 75 games.

Professional

On March 26, 2023, Sasson signed a two-year

entry-level contract An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

with the

. He joined the

, Vancouver's

(AHL) affiliate, for the remainder of the 2022–23 season, playing on a line with

Kyle Rau Kyle Rau (born October 24, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected in the third round, 91st overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2011 NHL Entry Draf ...

and Nils Höglander. In a combined seven regular-season and six postseason games for Abbotsford, Sasson had three goals and one assist. In preparation for his full rookie season, Sasson spent the 2023 offseason increasing his physicality. He had 18 goals and 42 points in 59 games during the 2023–24 season, with his performance the strongest after returning from injury in April. He added another goal and two assists in six games of the

2024 Calder Cup playoffs The 2024 Calder Cup playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Hockey League (AHL) to determine the winner of the Calder Cup, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions from the 2023–24 AHL season. All teams except the bottom t ...

. Sasson began the 2024–25 season in Abbotsford, leading the team with nine points through the first 16 games of the year. With Brock Boeser and J. T. Miller unavailable, Sasson was called up to Vancouver to make his NHL debut against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

on November 23, 2024. He recorded his first NHL point in the 4–3 victory, assisting on Teddy Blueger's second-period goal. After recording two assists in five games for Vancouver, Sasson was returned to Abbotsford on December 5. Sasson scored his first career NHL goal against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

on December 14, 2024, in a game that the Vancouver Canucks lost 5–1. On 23 June 2025, Sasson won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

as a member of the

Personal life

Sasson is Jewish and celebrated his bar mitzvah at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasson, Max 2000 births Living people 21st-century American Jews Abbotsford Canucks players American men's ice hockey centers 21st-century American sportsmen Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan Jewish American sportspeople Jews from Michigan Sportspeople from Birmingham, Michigan Vancouver Canucks players Waterloo Black Hawks players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players

Early life

Career

College

Professional

Personal life

Career statistics

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links