Brandon Tanev

Lore & Background

Tanev and his older brother Christopher were both cut from minor hockey teams at age 15 for being too small. Tanev stopped playing competitive hockey in high school, instead focusing on cross country running, track and field, and soccer, while practicing skating independently. After a growth spurt in his final year at East York Collegiate Institute, he joined the Markham Waxers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, scoring 16 goals and 42 points in 46 games and being named rookie of the year. He then played for the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League before going undrafted by the NHL.

Tanev played four seasons of college hockey for the Providence Friars, finishing with 35 goals and 42 assists in 149 games. In the 2015 NCAA tournament, he scored empty-net goals in the East Region semifinal and final, then delivered the game-winning goal against Boston University in the national championship game, giving Providence its first title. After college, he signed with the Winnipeg Jets and made his NHL debut on April 5, 2016. He spent parts of his first season alternating between the Jets and their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, before settling into a checking line role with Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp.

As a free agent, Tanev signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where his line with Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese was tasked with tiring out opposing teams' leading scorers. He missed most of the 2020–21 season due to injury but rejoined for the Penguins' short 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Seattle Kraken selected Tanev in the 2021 NHL expansion draft, and he played for the first half of their inaugural season before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

From the Bench to the Roster

Born in Toronto in 1991 as the middle son of Mike and Sophie Tanev, Brandon grew up in a household where all three boys laced up skates at a young age. They played for the Toronto Young Nationals in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, but a harsh reality struck when both Brandon and his older brother Christopher were released from their minor hockey rosters at fifteen, deemed too small to compete. Rather than abandoning the sport, Brandon stepped away from competitive hockey during high school and channeled his energy into cross country running, track and field, and soccer. He still kept his skating sharp by working privately with a skills coach.

A late growth spurt during his final year at East York Collegiate Institute changed everything. He earned a spot with the Markham Waxers in the OJHL, where he exploded for 16 goals and 42 points across 46 games, earning rookie of the year honors. A stint at the Vancouver Canucks' prospect camp followed before he moved to the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL, adding 11 goals in 58 regular-season appearances.

The Championship Goal That Defined Providence

Overlooked entirely in the NHL entry draft, Tanev turned to Providence College and the Hockey East conference, where he would spend four transformative seasons. His freshman year in 2012–13 was modest—four goals and seven assists in 33 games—but the real magic arrived in 2014–15. That campaign saw him post career-best numbers of 10 goals and 13 assists across 39 appearances, and he reached the 100-game milestone in February, becoming the 148th Friar in program history to do so. The season's climax in the NCAA tournament was electric.

Tanev scored an empty-net goal with 6.3 seconds remaining to dispatch Miami 7–5, then repeated the feat against Denver to send Providence to the Frozen Four. After a 4–1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha, the Friars faced Boston University in the championship. Tanev delivered the game-winning goal in a 4–3 thriller, securing the first national ice hockey title in Providence's history.

The Checking Line Specialist

After graduating from Providence, Tanev signed with the Winnipeg Jets, where his 2016–17 season saw him shuttle between the NHL and the American Hockey League. Over the next two years, he settled into a defined role on a checking line alongside Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp, a unit built to disrupt rather than create. When he became a free agent heading into 2019–20, Pittsburgh offered a similar identity: his trio with Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese was explicitly tasked with wearing down opposing teams' top offensive threats.

That role carried him into the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, though he had missed most of the regular season to injury. The Seattle Kraken then selected him in the 2021 expansion draft, and he contributed during the first half of their inaugural campaign before a torn ACL sidelined him. He has since continued his NHL career with the Utah Mammoth, still embracing the gritty, defensive-minded winger identity that has defined his professional path.

A Career Built on Second Chances

The through-line of Tanev's story is persistence in the face of repeated setbacks. At fifteen, he and his brother were told their bodies were too small for competitive hockey. He spent his high school years without a team, filling the void with running, track, and soccer while quietly maintaining his skating with a private coach. The NHL draft passed him by without a single pick.

Injuries later cost him the bulk of the 2020–21 season and ended his first half with Seattle after an ACL tear. Yet at every juncture, he found a way back onto the ice. From a late growth spurt that unlocked junior hockey, to an undrafted path through four years at Providence, to earning a spot in the NHL as a role player on checking lines, Tanev's career reads as a long series of second chances. He never became a star scorer, but he carved out a durable professional identity by showing up, staying healthy when he could, and accepting the unglamorous work that keeps a team competitive.

Reader's Guide

Brandon Tanev's career is notable for its trajectory from being cut as an undersized 15-year-old to becoming a key contributor on a national championship college team and an NHL checking forward. His game-winning goal in the 2015 NCAA championship remains the defining moment of Providence's first national title in ice hockey. After going undrafted, he carved out an NHL role through defensive responsibility and energy, particularly on the Penguins' checking line tasked with neutralizing top scorers.

His selection by Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft reflects his value as a depth forward, though his time with the Kraken was cut short by a major knee injury. Tanev's path—from taking time off from hockey after being cut, to a late growth spurt, to undrafted college success, to an NHL career—illustrates a non-traditional route to professional hockey. His older brother Christopher also played in the NHL, making the Tanevs one of several brother pairs in the league.