Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Russian-born rookie defenseman Mikhail Sergachyov(98) had himself quite the first season.
After an offseason trade sent him from draft club Montreal Canadiens (1st round, 2016, #9 overall) to his current team, he stepped it up.
The already sizable 6’3″ 215 lbs. blue liner played 3 games in 2017/2018 with the Habs before being returned to a 2nd campaign for Windsor Spitfires, where he once again eclipsed the 30+ assist mark with a +22 rating and was named the league’s top defenseman in 2015/2016.
He returned to the parent club after completing his juniors calendar for another appearance but was still held off the scoresheet despite increased playing time.
This year he’s scored 9 goals and 31 assists for 40 points with a +11 getting himself off to a strong start and added another 2 goals and 2 assists in 8 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.
The hard-working, hard-hitting d-man will turn just 20-years old over the summer but is playing like he’s been guarding the zone for a lot longer than he has.