Zach Bogosian Zach Bogosian ( born July 15 , 1990 ) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets . The first person of Armenia n descent to play in the NHL , Bogosian attended Cushing Academy in Massachusetts before he joined the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) in 2006 . He played two seasons in the OHL , and was nominated for the Red Tilson Trophy as the league ' s most outstanding player in his second season . Bogosian was regarded as a complete , physical defenceman who could contribute on both offense and defense ; he was rated as one of the top players heading into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft , where the Atlanta Thrashers selected him third overall . He signed a contract with the team a few weeks after the draft and began the season with the Thrashers , though he missed several weeks of his rookie year due to injury . In his second season , he tied a team record for goals by a defenseman . Bogosian first played in an international tournament when he joined the American national team at the 2009 IIHF World Championship . Playing career . Junior . In 2004 , Bogosian entered high school at Cushing Academy , a prep school in Massachusetts . The assistant coach of the school ' s hockey team was Ray Bourque , a former NHL defenseman who was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame . Bogosian ' s teammates at Cushing included his older brother , Aaron , and Bourque ' s son , Ryan . While at Cushing he was used mostly as a fifth or sixth defenceman and played few minutes as a result . After his second year at the school , Bogosian was selected 19th overall in the 2006 Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) Priority Draft by the Peterborough Petes Bogosian ' s decision to play in the OHL rather than go to the NCAA differed from most of his teammates , including his brother . As his father and uncle had also played college football in the NCAA , it was expected that Bogosian would follow them in going to university . He cited watching Ottawa 67 ' s games at age nine as a major influence in deciding to play in Canada . Bogosian began playing for the Petes in the 2006 – 07 season . He played 67 games for the team and finished with 7 goals and 26 assists for 33 points , which was second on the team in points for both rookies and defensemen . In recognition of his season , he was named to the OHL ' s Second All - Rookie Team , as one of the top four rookie defencemen in the league . The next season , Bogosian appeared in 60 games for the Petes . He led his team in scoring with 61 points ( 11 goals , 50 assists ) , the only defenceman in the league do so ; the 50 assists he scored were second in the league among defensemen . The Petes reached the playoffs after missing the previous year , and Bogosian added another three assists in five games . During the season , he participated in both the OHL All - Star Classic and the CHL Top Prospects Game , an all - star game of prospects from the three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League ( Western Hockey League , Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and OHL ) . At the conclusion of the season , Bogosian was named one of the five draft - eligible finalists for the Red Tilson Trophy as most outstanding player in the OHL , and was also named to the OHL First All - Star Team as one of the two best defensemen in the league . Prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft , Bogosian was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the second best North American skater for the draft and the third ranked prospect out of the OHL . He was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Thrashers behind Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty . He was noted by his coach in Peterborough , Vince Malette , to be a " very physical defenseman who is a complete player " and defensively solid who could skate well with the puck and not lose speed . Thrashers general manager Don Waddell liked the physical aspect Bogosian brought to a game , as well as his ability to help score goals while at the same time stop other teams ' top players . Bogosian had been noted prior for the draft for his dedication to training , as he drove more than 90 minutes to Ottawa to get a better work out . Professional . In July 2008 , Bogosian attended the Thrashers prospect development camp . The youngest player of the 32 at the camp , he stood out as one of the best players there and effectively assured himself a roster spot on the team . On September 4 , 2008 , Bogosian signed a three - year , entry - level contract worth $ 2 . 625 million with the Thrashers . He was named to the team ' s opening day lineup , and made his NHL debut in the first game of the season on October 10 against the Washington Capitals . Bogosian became the youngest person to play for the Thrashers that night at 18 years and 87 days , surpassing Ilya Kovalchuk ( 18 years , 172 days ) . Twenty - four seconds into his first shift , Bogosian was called for a holding penalty , while later in the contest , he had a fight with Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear . Eight games into the season , however , on October 28 , Bogosian broke his left leg in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers . Prior to rejoining the Thrashers , Bogosian was sent to their American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Chicago Wolves , for conditioning . After playing five games with the Wolves , including scoring his first professional goal on January 3 , 2009 , against the Rockford IceHogs , Bogosian rejoined the Thrashers for the remainder of the season . He scored his first NHL goal and recorded his first assist in his twelfth game on January 17 , 2009 , against Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators . Bogosian finished his first professional season with 19 points in 47 NHL games and 1 goal in 5 AHL games as the Thrashers finished out of the playoffs . Throughout the 2009 – 10 season Bogosian was bothered by an injury . During a game against the Ottawa Senators on October 31 , 2009 , Bogosian fell behind his team ' s net ; with his left hand lying on the net ' s iron frame along the ice , another player fell on top of him . The impact broke his left thumb and injured his wrist . Though he did not miss any time from the injury , it had an effect on his offensive play ; Bogosian was perceived to be more hesitant with the puck , choosing to pass it more often than shooting . In the first 17 games of the season , he had scored 8 goals , then went 29 contests without scoring . In the final 64 games , he only scored 2 goals . After he recovered , Bogosian admitted he did not play at his full capacity , but had decided not to disclose the injury to the team until the season finished in April 2010 . Regardless of his injury , Bogosian only missed one game throughout the season , a game on March 14 against the Phoenix Coyotes . Even with these setbacks , Bogosian set career highs for games played ( 81 ) , goals ( 10 ) , assists ( 13 ) and points ( 23 ) . The 10 goals he scored tied a team record for most by a defenseman in a season , first set by Yannick Tremblay in 1999 – 2000 , the Thrashers ' inaugural year . He also set a team record with 196 hits . Again the Thrashers missed the playoffs . Bogosian has agreed to terms on a new two - year , $ 5 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets on September 14th , 2011 . International . Bogosian made his international debut with the American national team at the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland . He appeared in all nine games for the team , and recorded one assist , in a game against France , as the Americans finished fourth overall . During the 2009 – 10 season he was mentioned as a candidate to join the American team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , but a wrist and thumb injury led to a decrease in performance and he was ultimately not selected . He was invited to join the American team at the 2010 IIHF World Championship , but declined in order to heal his injuries . Personal life . Bogosian was born to Ike and Vicky Bogosian in Massena , New York , a town of 13 , 000 adjacent to the Saint Lawrence River . He is the first NHL player of Armenian descent ; his great - grandfather , Stephen Bogosian , left modern Armenia in 1923 at the age of 16 . At the age of 2½ , Bogosian first began to skate . He joined the Massena Minor Hockey Association when he was 3 , staying in the program until he was 14 , when he left for Cushing Academy . Bogosian first began to play defense at the Squirt level ( under - 10 ) ; though he was smaller than most of his peers , he was a good skater . He alternated between forward and defense throughout minor hockey . When he began attending Cushing Academy he was a forward the first year , before he converted to a defender full - time . After leaving the school and moving to Canada with two years of high school to complete , Bogosian took courses on the internet . Zach has two older brothers , Ike Jr . and Aaron : Aaron is also a professional ice hockey player who attended St . Lawrence University where he played fours seasons with the Saints . Aaron currently plays in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons . Ike was an athlete when he was younger , playing college football with Syracuse University from 1979 to 1981 . In his senior season at Syracuse he was co - captain of the team with future New York Giants running back Joe Morris . He currently runs a carpet and floor cleaning business with his brother in Massena . Vicky works as a hairdresser .