Michigan State hockey gains huge commitment from USHL standout

After a breakout year in the USHL, Vladislav Lukashevich is coming to the NCAA to join Michigan State hockey.

Michigan State hockey got a new commit recently when it was announced that defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich would make the jump from the USHL to the NCAA. Lukashevich spent last season playing with the Tri-City Storm where he had a breakout year.

A fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, he will be tasked with filling gaps left by Artyom Levshunov and Nash Nienhuis.

Who is Vladislav Lukashevich?

Lukashevich, as mentioned before, is a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers. Since being drafted he has spent time in both the MHL (second-tier of Russian Hockey), and last season in the USHL (American Junior League). Lukashevich really made a name for himself last year when moving to North America. His season with Tri-City last year was drastically better than his performances in Russia. He ended the season with 11 goals and 32 assists for a total of 43 points. It will be interesting to see how those numbers translate to the NCAA.

https://twitter.com/USHL/status/1713332912316137519

As a player, Lukashevich is considered to be a strong puck moving defenseman. Going into his draft year, his puck moving was considered to be his best trait. Also, at 6-foot-2 he can lay on the body as well. These are all traits that Adam Nightingale will need to maintain the defensive performances from last season.

Now at age 21, Lukashevich seems like a bit of a long shot for the NHL, but it is never bad to have players that are drafted on your team. If the pro teams are seeing something in these players, there is some definite upside. I expect that we will likely be seeing Lukashevich on either the second or third defensive pairing behind David Gucciardi and Patrick Geary. All three play on the left side which should hopefully provide some strong defense on that side.

It will be exciting to see this offensive defenseman make a name for himself in East Lansing next year.