Christopher Tanev (born December 20, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and an alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). 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.\n', '

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 Pittsburgh Penguins) 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 less than 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.\n', '

Tanev played in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL) for three seasons. Starting off with the Durham Fury in 2006–07, he recorded no goals and nine assists over 40 games. He split the following season between Durham, the Stouffville Spirit and the Markham Waxers renamed Markham Royals, combining for 17 points (2 goals and 15 assists) over 49 games between the three teams. Playing the 2008–09 campaign with Markham, he led all team defencemen in scoring with 41 points in 50 games, while serving as an alternate captain; he was named the team\'s top defenceman at the end of the season.\n', '

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