LocalSportsJournal.com
Former Muskegon Lumberjack winger Andrei Svechnikov has agreed to a new, eight-year contract with the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes.
Svechnikov, who played in Muskegon during the 2016-17 season, scored 29 goals and added 29 assists during his one season with the Lumberjacks.
According to the Hurricanes, the 21-year-old native of Barnaul, Russia is about to ink a deal worth $62 million over those eight years (average-annual value is $7.75 million per season).
Following his season in Muskegon, Svechnikov played one season with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League before being drafted in the first round, second overall, by the Hurricanes in the 2018 draft. He made the Hurricanes right out of his first training camp.
In his first NHL season, Svechnikov scored 20 goals and added 17 assists for 37 points. His second season resulted in 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points. Last season, in 55 games, he had 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points.
“Andrei is one of the cornerstones of this organization, and we are thrilled to reach a long-term commitment to keep him here,” said Waddell in the club’s released statement “He is one of the brightest rising stars in our sport, and will play a key role in our efforts to bring the Stanley Cup to the Triangle this decade.”
Svechnikov has totaled 59 goals and 81 assists (140 points) in 205 career regular-season games, and has scored more goals for the Hurricanes’ franchise than any other Russian-born player in team history.
