

Christopher Tanev (born December 20, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Dallas Stars.
Unselected in the NHL entry draft, he was signed by the Canucks as a free agent after his freshman year with the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers. In his only college season, he was named Atlantic Hockey's Rookie of the Year, in addition to receiving All-Tournament and Third All-Star Team honours, while helping the Tigers to a conference championship. Prior to college, he played three seasons in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League.
Early life
Tanev was born in East York, Ontario, to Sophie Meredith and Mike "Misho" Tanev. He has two brothers, Brandon (who plays left wing for the Utah Mammoth) and Kyle, and is of Macedonian descent. Playing minor hockey within the Greater Toronto Hockey League, he competed with the Toronto Red Wings. After being cut from seven midget-level teams at age 16 due to a lack of size (he was barely five feet and roughly 120 pounds at the time), Tanev resorted to playing for his high school's team and took up roller hockey in the summer. After graduating from high school at the East York Collegiate Institute, he enrolled in the Rochester Institute of Technology as a finance major while playing college hockey.
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