Kingston Frontenacs GameDay December 11, 2015

“The year before, we had travelled to
United States to play a tournament in
Scranton and they spoke to my dad
after the tournament and said they
wanted me to come and play for them,”
he recalled. With his Russian hockey
future uncertain, Chernyuk and his
family decided he should make the
jump to North America. After a year
with the U16 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Knights, the University of Maine came
calling. Then the Bloomington Thunder
of the USHL (the American equivalent
of the CHL) drafted him. In a very short
span of time his career had taken an
upward and decidedly American
trajectory. The following year, after
realizing that Scranton’s U18 team
didn’t provide enough of a challenge
Chernyuk moved to Wichita Falls, Texas
to play with a tier-two junior squad
in the Lone Star State. Meanwhile,
Bloomington had expressed interest
in the Russian youngster but they
were also very clear that they were
going for a championship and would
be focused on older players. His best
option seemed to be the NCAA route
so he signed a letter of commitment
to attend Maine and play for the
prestigious Black Bears in Division 1.
That’s when the Frontenacs entered
the picture and after again discussing
the best options with his father, a
jump to the OHL seemed to make the
most sense. “Me and my dad started
talking about where should I go, what’s
our next step. Go to the USHL go to
Maine or go to Canada to play for the
Frontenacs,” he said. “We decided
we have to go to Canada because the
KINGSTON FRONTENACS GAMEDAY MAGAZINE