Akim Aliu (born April 24, 1989) is a Nigerian-born Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey player currently an unrestricted free agent.

[1] His father, Tai, a Nigerian, attended university in Kyiv on a track and field scholarship where he met and married Aliu's mother, Larissa, a Ukrainian.

[4] Uncomfortable with the political climate following the demise of the Soviet Union, Aliu's parents moved the family to Canada when he was 7 and settled in the Toronto area.

[3] He had a natural talent for the game and within a few years was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the first round by the Windsor Spitfires.

[1] Early in the 2005–06 OHL season, his first in the league, Aliu was involved in an incident with Steve Downie during practice after the latter player cross-checked him in the face, knocking out seven teeth.

The incident stemmed primarily from Aliu's refusal to participate in a hazing ritual that would have forced him and the other rookies to stand naked in a cramped bus washroom.

[3] He carried a reputation as a difficult player to manage into the draft, and despite his early rating,[1] fell to the second round, where the Chicago Blackhawks selected him 56th overall.

On June 23, 2010, he was included in a deal that also saw Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Brent Sopel head to Atlanta in exchange for Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, Jeremy Morin and two draft picks.

[17] Aliu spent the majority of the 2010–11 season with the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, but also played on loan with the Peoria Rivermen and had another stint in the ECHL, with the Gwinnett Gladiators.

He did not figure in the new management's plans,[7] and after failing to make the roster of Winnipeg's AHL affiliate, started the season again in the ECHL with the Colorado Eagles.

As a free agent over the summer without having appeared with the Solar Bears, Aliu attended the Lake Erie Monsters training camp for the 2015–16 season, however, was unable to secure a contract offer.

Over a month later, Aliu returned overseas to sign for the remainder of the season with Russian club, Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, on November 6, 2015.