The Muskegon Lumberjacks made a splash earlier this year when they announced they had acquired the rights to top Russian prospect Ivan Ryabkin. There was still a lot of work to be done to make his arrival in the USHL a reality, however. Mission accomplished.

• Subscribe to FloHockey to watch the USHL all season
• FloHockey's 2025 NHL Draft Coverage
• USHL Power Rankings By Jordan McAlpine

The Jacks announced that Ryabkin will join the team for the second half of the season. He needed to be released from his KHL contract by Dynamo Moscow to make this move possible and that happened within the last 24 hours.

As a result, Ryabkin can join the Lumberjacks, becoming part of a long line of top Russian prospects to skate in Muskegon over the years. Among the notables are Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov and recent first-round pick Matvei Gridin.

He’s here!! Ivan Ryabkin is joining the Lumberjacks!

Welcome to Muskegon, Ivan!

For more information and the full interview with Coach Burgess please visit the link in our bio.#ChopChop | #GetJACKD pic.twitter.com/2kQg6jT3yk

— Muskegon Lumberjacks (@MuskegonJacks) December 31, 2024

Ryabkin entered the season as the top NHL Draft prospect out of Russia for 2025. His stock has continually slipped however as he was bounced between Dynamo’s VHL and MHL teams and not performing at a particularly high level.

Last season however, the then 16-year-old, set a single-season record for a U17 player in Russia’s top junior league, the MHL. Ryabkin had 58 points in just 44 games for MHK Dynamo in 2023-24, two more points than Matvei Michkov had three years prior with SKA’s junior side. Nikita Kucherov also is one of the top U17 scorers ever in that league with 54 points in 53 games.

This year has been a different story, however, which is why Dynamo may have been willing to terminate Ryabkin’s contract.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound forward has tons of skill but couldn’t seem to stay in the lineup as he went up and down between the MHL and the VHL, Russia’s second pro division.

He appeared in two KHL games this year with Dynamo, eight VHL games with Dynamo St. Petersburg, and 15 games in the MHL. He has just one goal and 13 assists between the MHL and VHL and no points in his KHL appearances.

By coming to the USHL, Ryabkin will get a lot more ice time and a prominent role on a top-performing team. Muskegon is currently in first place in the Eastern Conference and now add a big offensive piece to the puzzle.

"Not only is it so exciting for Muskegon, but it's also a really big deal for the United States Hockey League," said Muskegon GM Jimmy McGroarty.

He’s going to have to rebuild his draft stock, but this may be the best way for him to do it. He’ll get seen by more NHL scouts now and will certainly be given a chance to show what he can do. There will likely be an adjustment period as he’s never played in North America before, but this is certainly an exciting move to see one of the top Russian draft prospects come into the USHL this season.

There’s certainly potential there. Now we’ll see what Muskegon can get out of it. Muskegon's next game on FloHockey is slated for Jan. 3 against the U.S. National Team Development Program.

Watch AHL, ECHL, USHL And More On FloHockey

FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the AHL, ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.

Join The Hockey Conversation On FloHockey Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloHockey
• Follow us on Instagram @flohockey
• Follow us on TikTok @flohockeytv
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook