Kushneriuk Named ECHL Player of the Week

ESTERO, FL – The Florida Everblades announced Tuesday that Chris Kushneriuk is the Sherwood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Jan 12-18.

Kushneriuk scored five goals and added one assist with a +2 rating in three games played last week.  The 28-year-old recorded his first career hat trick and added an assist in a 6-5 shootout loss to Tulsa on Wednesday, scored a goal in a 4-2 victory against Tulsa on Friday and scored once in a 7-2 loss to Gwinnett on Saturday.

Kushneriuk, has recorded 21 points (9g, 21a) in 26 games played with the Everblades this season.  Last season, he registered six points (4g, 2a) in 18 games played last season with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL).

The 6-0, 190-pound forward started his pro career with the Wheeling Nailers in the spring of 2011, posting seven points in eight regular season games.  In addition, he tallied nine points in 15 playoff games with the Nailers, which includes scoring the overtime winning goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Greenville.

During the 2011-12 season, the Ottawa, Ontario native registered 14 points (3g, 11a) in 39 games split between Wheeling and the Bakersfield Condors.

Kushneriuk (pronounced KOOSH-nair-ECK) totaled 68 points (27g, 41a) in three seasons at Robert Morris University from 2008-2011. He also played at Wayne State University in 2007-08.

On behalf of Chris Kushneriuk, a case of pucks will be donated to a Florida youth hockey organization by Sher-Wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL.  Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-Wood Hockey has donated more than 31,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.