After falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final, the Sharks knew they were close to achieving something that hadn’t been done in their franchise before; winning a Stanley Cup. They looked to strengthen the team as they acquired Maxim Letunov and a 2017 sixth round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2016 fourth round and 2017 third round pick.
#SJSharks acquire Maxim Letunov & a 6th round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft from @ArizonaCoyotes for two picks.https://t.co/V8pqri5HEf
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) June 20, 2016
Sharks Acquire Maxim Letunov
Letunov was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He spent the 2014-2015 season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. In 58 games he posted 25 goals and 39 assists for a total of 64 points. His rights were then traded to the Arizona Coyotes in March of 2015 in exchange for Zbynek Michalek and a conditional 2015 third round pick.
During the 2015-2016 season, Letunov led the University of Connecticut’s hockey team in scoring as a freshman. He posted 16 goals and 24 points, totaling 40 points. He finished fifth in scoring among all NCAA freshman.
The freshman achieved numerous records during his first year at UConn. He set the Division I scoring record for points, goals and assists. His 40 points rank as the fourth highest total in UConn’s Division I record book. He became the first UConn player to record a 40 point season since 2011-2012. He was also just the fourth player to achieve the mark during the Division I era. Letunov was also named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and a Hockey East Second Team All-Star.
Ben Kerr had this to say about Letunov before the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
“Maxim Letunov, C, Yougstown Phantoms (6’2″ 150 lbs): Russian centre comitted to Boston University for the 2015-16 season and who put up 43 points in 60 games. Tall and Lanky he will need some time to add some muscle, but he has slick hands and good playmaking ability. Excellent hockey sense and seems to always make the right play with the puck on his stick.”
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