Kingston Frontenacs GameDay February 13, 2016

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