Boris Katchouk

Boris Katchouk (born June 18, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Katchouk was drafted in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft in the second round, 44th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Early life
Katchouk was born on June 18, 1998, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Russian parents, Yelena Tumanova and Viktor Katchouk, and grew up alongside his two older brothers, Alex and Yuri. His mother Yelena represented the Soviet Union in speed skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics. His family moved from Russia to Canada for work in 1992 and moved from Montreal to Vancouver before settling down in Waterloo, Ontario. He holds Canadian and Russian dual citizenship.

Growing up, Katchouk was a dual athlete as he played both ice hockey and box lacrosse.

Playing career
Katchouk began his ice hockey career with the Waterloo Wolves Minor Midget team in the Alliance Hockey League. During the 2013–14 season, he recorded 25 goals and 33 assists for 58 points through 29 games while also guiding the team to an AHMMPL Championship. Following this, he joined the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL)'s Soo Thunderbirds and led them to the James Aspin Trophy, Copeland Cup McNamara Trophy, and Dudley Hewitt Cup. During the Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament, Katchouk led all Thunderbird players in scoring with six points. During this time, he also attended Resurrection Catholic Secondary School before being drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He played 12 games with the Greyhounds as a 16-year-old during the 2014–15 OHL season but fully began his career the following year.

Major junior
Upon joining the Greyhounds for the 2015–16 season, Katchouk recorded 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points in 63 games. During his rookie season, Katchouk was automatically suspended for two games as a result of a fight with Niki Petti. He concluded the season by being selected to the OHL's All-Rookie Team and being named the Greyhounds' Rookie of the Year. In his National Hockey League (NHL) draft eligible year, Katchouk earned a 25th final ranking amongst North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau prior to the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was eventually drafted in the second round, 44th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning and participated in their training camp.

Katchouk returned to the Greyhounds for his sophomore season, where he recorded 35 goals and 64 points in 66 games. As the team qualified for the 2017 OHL playoffs, he led all Greyhounds skaters in both goals and points through 11 games, and was then signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Lightning on April 23. The following year, Katchouk again helped the Greyhounds qualify for the 2018 OHL playoffs. During their series against the Owen Sound Attack, Katchouk scored a hat trick to help lift the Greyhounds to a Game 7 win and qualify for the OHL's Western Conference final.

Professional
Following his major junior career, Katchouk was assigned to the Lightning's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He scored his first professional career goal in his debut against the Rochester Americans. During the latter part of the season, Katchouk experienced an 11-game goal-scoring drought which he broke on March 29, 2019, against the Providence Bruins. At the time of the goal, he had recorded 22 points throughout the season including three-multi point games. Katchouk returned to the AHL for the 2020–21 season, appearing in 29 games, scoring 11 goals and 34 points, leading the team in assists and plus/minus.

On July 31, 2021, Katchouk signed a three-year contract to remain with the Lightning organization. After attending the Lightning's training camp and participating in pre-season games, Katchouk was named to their opening night roster. On October 16, Katchouk made his NHL debut in a 7–6 Lightning overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. On November 13, Katchouk recorded his first career NHL assist and point against the Florida Panthers. On December 5, Katchouk recorded his first career NHL goal against Carter Hart in a 7–1 Lightning win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He played in 37 games, scoring two goals and six points with the Lightning before being assigned to the Crunch for a conditioning assignment on March 10, 2022. After playing in three games, he was recalled by Tampa Bay on March 14. He appeared in one more game with the Lightning.

On March 18, 2022, the Lightning, looking to bolster their offense for an upcoming playoff run, traded Katchouk along with teammate Taylor Raddysh and two first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Brandon Hagel and two fourth-round draft picks. Katchouk made his Blackhawks debut on March 19 in a 3–1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. He scored his first goal with Chicago on April 10 against Jake Oettinger in a 6–4 loss to the Dallas Stars. Katchouk suffered a left ankle sprain in a 2022 pre-season game versus the Detroit Red Wings that caused him to miss the first month of the 2022–23 season. Katchouk made his season debut against the Buffalo Sabres on October 29. Katchouk got his first goal and first point of the season on November 30 in a 5–4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. On March 14, 2023, Katchouk registered his first three-point game, scoring one goal and assisting on two others in a 6–3 win over the Boston Bruins.

Katchouk began the 2023–24 season with Chicago, but after 17 games, he had recorded only two goals and four points. His poor play led him to be placed on waivers by the Blackhawks. After going unclaimed, he was assigned to the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, on December 12, 2023. After appearing in six games with Rockford, scoring three goals and five points, Katchouk was recalled by Chicago after Raddysh was placed on injured reserve on December 30, 2023. He played in eleven more games with Chicago, scoring three more goals and five points.

On March 7, 2024, Katchouk was placed on waivers again by the Blackhawks. The following day, he was claimed by the Ottawa Senators. He made his Senators debut on March 9 in a 2–1 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Katchouk scored his first goal and registered his first multi-point game with the Senators in a 6–2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on March 27.

International play
Katchouk was a member of Team Canada at 2016 Under-18 Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. He made Team Canada for the 2018 World Junior Championships and scored in his debut. Canada went on to win the gold medal in a 3–1 victory of Sweden.