The USHL announced its Players of the Week Monday evening. Chicago forward Jack Harvey, Green Bay defenseman Artyom Levshunov and Waterloo goaltender Emmett Croteau took home the respective honors for Week 25.
It’s the first weekly honor of the season for Croteau and the second for both Harvey and Levshunov.
Harvey netted a pair of goals on Saturday and another two on Sunday, bringing his season total to 33. The BU commit ranks second in the USHL, trailing only Chicago teammate Macklin Celebrini (41). Harvey also added an assist in Sunday’s 7-1 win over Madison, giving himself a five-point weekend.
Harvey is currently third in the USHL in points (64), trailing only Celebrini (74) and Cedar Rapids forward Ryan Walsh (65).
“He’s added a ton to his game this season with his leadership and especially how he plays away from the puck and his puck retrievals,” Chicago head coach Mike Garman told The Rink Live.
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“Jack is such a competitive kid and he’s always been a really talented and really smart hockey player. But he’s just added a lot and really rounded out his overall game.”
In addition to his success during the 2022-23 campaign, Harvey also etched his name into Chicago’s record book this weekend. The left-shot forward became the Steel’s franchise career goal leader on Sunday, passing former Steel forward Matt Coronato, who lit the lamp 66 times from 2019-2021.
Harvey has 68 goals in 163 career games in a Chicago sweater.
“He’s been a productive player in this league for a while and it’s an amazing accomplishment,” Garman said. “There’s been a lot of guys that have scored a lot of goals here, so for him to have that title speaks volumes about him as a player and how hard he’s worked here. He’s a great kid and he deserves it.”
Following his first goal of the game and 67th career goal, Jack Harvey set a new record for most career goals in franchise history previously held by Matt Coronato with 66 (2019-2021). Congrats Jack! #FeelSteel pic.twitter.com/XSEvMpRbku
— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) March 20, 2023
Joining Harvey as a fellow two-time recipient of POTW honors this season is Levshunov, who has been one of the USHL's top rookie defensemen for Green Bay.
Levshunov netted his 11th goal of the season on Saturday and added three assists on the weekend, giving himself 35 points (11-24-35) through 51 games.
Levshunov ranks third among USHL blue liners in goals and fifth in points. The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenseman has turned some heads this season with his offensive prowess.
Rounding out the group is Croteau, a third-year USHL goaltender and sixth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens last summer. Croteau struggled during the first half of this season but the Clarkson commit has really turned it on as of late, winning five of his last six starts.
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Croteau has made 193 of a possible 204 saves over his current six-game stretch, including 79 last weekend.
“Emmett made some huge saves for us last weekend and he was a warrior,” Waterloo head coach Matt Smaby told The Rink Live. “He saw a ton of shots, especially on Thursday, and he just kept us in it. He’s a big reason why we came away with the victories we did last weekend.”
Croteau made a season-high 42 saves on Thursday – along with two in the shootout – and followed it up with 37 more on Saturday in a pair of road wins over league-leading Fargo. Waterloo clinched a playoff berth in the process.
Saturday’s win was Croteau’s 12th of the season and he’s now a perfect 3-0 against the Force. Croteau currently ranks third in the USHL in save percentage (.915) and fourth in GAA (2.52).
“When Emmett is at his best, he’s poised, he’s calm and I think as of late he’s really been a rock for us,” Smaby said. “I think his game has gotten better and better over the course of this season and he’s really rounding his game into form lately.”
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