STEFANOVICH NAMED SHERWOOD/ECHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

(RAPID CITY, SD) – The Rapid City Rush, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes in conjunction with the ECHL, announced today that forward Mikhail Stefanovich has been named the Sherwood/ECHL Player of the Week for the week of December 7th to December 13th.

Stefanovich is the second player in Rush history to garner the Player of the Week recognition from the ECHL, recording 7 points (6 G, Ast) in three games last week, along with a +3 rating. His first contest on December 8th against the Wichita Thunder saw him earn four points, including his second hat-trick of the season, in a 7-2 win followed by his third hat-trick of the season, and second in as many games, in a 5-2 win against the Midwest Division-leading Quad City Mallards on December 11th. By scoring hat-tricks in back-to-back games, Stefanovich became the first player in Rush history, and the 10th player in the last 19 years of ECHL hockey, to accomplish the feat.

“It is great to see another member of the Rush be recognized for Player of the Week. Mikhail is very deserving of this recognition with his back-to-back hat-tricks,” said Rush Head Coach and GM, Joe Ferras. “Mikhail has worked extremely hard to get back to the lineup after his early season injury, and is a big part of our lineup.”

A native of Minsk, Belarus, Stefanovich has 13 points (9 G, 4 Ast) in 11 games with the Rush in the midst of what is his sixth season of professional hockey. His career has seen him play across the international landscape of the sport in North America in the ECHL and AHL, and in Europe in the KHL, VHL, and in his home country of Belarus. Prior to playing professionally, the 26 year-old forward played three seasons of junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2008 NHL Draft (4th Rd-#98).

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