MUSKEGON – Platon Zadorozhyn would have preferred to start the season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
The 18-year-old elite Russian goalie prospect is committed to play next season at the University of Maine. He already knew that the North American style of hockey is quite different than the European style, and he wanted a season in the USHL to make the adjustment.
The Lumberjacks had been trying to acquire his services for some time, but his Russian team did not want to let him go, and it took a few weeks for Zadorozhyn to convince management to grant him a release.
So he started the season with his old team back home, then suddenly got a call last week and learned that the team had finally agreed to let him leave. He was told he had to be on a plane the next day that would take him from Moscow to New York, then New York to Chicago, before he was finally driven to Muskegon.
He arrived in Muskegon in the early morning hours last Thursday, practiced later that day and started for the Lumberjacks on Friday night.
[1]The sudden journey, which took about 20 hours, was quite a head-spinning experience for a young athlete who began last week assuming he might have to spend the entire season in Russia.
“My Russian team didn’t want me to leave, I had one more year with them, and they didn’t want to give me a chance to play here,” Zadorozhyn said. “I told the general manager (in Russia) that it was a really good chance for me, and after a few weeks he finally said OK.
“I had a game in Moscow on Tuesday, then I got a call saying I needed to go right now. I went home, slept a little bit, and on Wednesday I was on the plane, and I was here by Thursday early in the morning.”
Lumberjacks fans were eager to see what Zadorozhyn could do in goal, mostly due to the circumstances surrounding his arrival.
Jan Skorpik, a returnee from last season, started the year as the Jacks’ designated No. 1 goalie, but did not perform well and was released last week when the team learned Zadorozhyn would be on his way.
The fans didn’t have to wait long to see Zadorozhyn. He got the start at home last Friday night against Dubuque, and it did not go well, with the visiting Fighting Saints beating the Lumberjacks 7-4.
Lumberjacks coach Mike Hamilton faulted the defense for the loss, not Zadorozhyn, who had to face a lot of breakaways and odd-man rushes from Dubuque.
Hamilton allowed the new No. 1 goalie to rest during Saturday night’s game, which the Jacks lost 4-3 in an overtime shootout, but he’s expected to be back in the net this weekend when Muskegon hosts Youngstown on Friday and Saturday nights.
[2]“I can’t say I was too tired, but I had practice on Thursday, I had only had about four hours of sleep, and I didn’t feel like myself,” Zadorozhyn said. “They asked me if I wanted to opportunity to play (on Friday) and I said yes.
“Maybe that game was really bad – I didn’t play my best – but I got a sense for what I will have to do the next game.”
Zadorozhyn said he was impressed by the Lumberjacks’ defensive play on Saturday night, while he watched from the bench, and is looking forward to the next opportunity to take the ice with his new teammates.
“I know they can play,” he said about the Jacks. “They play offense really good, but they have to play defense first. On Saturday I saw what they can do. If they play like that every game, we will win.”
Zadorozhyn said he’s been a goalie since he was six-years-old, although it was not by choice at first.
“We had a meeting in the locker room and the coach asked who wanted to play goalie,” he said. “I lot of guys put their hands up, but me no. I was the only guy who didn’t.”
Despite his reluctance, Zadorozhyn was quickly assigned to the position and took to it well.
He really came into his own over the past two seasons. In 2019-20 he posted a 14-14-4 record with a terrific 2.17 goals against average while playing for a team called Atlant Mytishi. Last season he was 13-7-1 with a 2.40 GAA while playing for Spartak Moskva.
[3]Those were the kind of numbers that attracted the Lumberjacks’ attention, and Coach Mike Hamilton likes what he’s seen so far, despite the rough first game.
“He literally played a game two days after arriving,” Hamilton said. “Usually guys have the benefit of going through training camp. We talked about it, he said he was ready (on Friday), and I got a little greedy.
“He’s really athletic – that’s the first thing you see. He’s just been getting adjusted to the time change and our style of hockey, which he said is completely different.
“Over there he was one of the younger guys on his team, and he wasn’t getting the amount of ice time he’s going to be getting here. This is going to be a really good thing for him and his game.”
Zadorozhyn received a big boost several years ago when he attended a goalie camp in Columbus, Ohio for two straight years, learned about North American hockey, and fell in love with it.
“My goal became to play in the NHL and win a Stanley Cup,” he said. “It’s a different kind of hockey here. You play in a smaller area. It’s not faster, but many shots come at you from many different positions. Here they are always trying to score, score, score. My team back home, they played very good defense, and you only have to make a couple of saves, but here you have to make saves every few minutes. I like it. This is the type of hockey I want to play.”
Zadorozhyn said he likes what he has seen of Muskegon very much. He said his teammates have all been very friendly and accepting, particularly forward David Hymovitch, who shares a billet home with Zadorozhyn,
“He’s my friend, and he has a car so he’s my driver, too,” Zadorozhyn said about Hymovitch. “He helps me a lot. I really want to say thank you for his help.”
Zadorozhyn said, if anything, the support system for junior hockey players here is much better than in Russia, where he was largely on his own.
“The guys here on my team, they look older than Russians, but they are still like kids, and they get much support from (billet) families,” he said. “In Russia the tradition is that you turn 18-years-old and you are expected to become a man.”