USHL 2023-24 Preview: Lincoln Stars
Are the Lincoln Stars the early-season favorite to come out of the West?
LINCOLN — Compiling a record of 37-21-0-3 in 2022-23, the Lincoln Stars pocketed 78 points and the most wins since the 2012-13 campaign. The Stars were the Western Conference’s best home team, collecting 45 points at the Ice Box, and were carried by a quality leadership group.
Last year saw the rise of Tanner Ludtke, who recorded just one point in 24 games in 2021-22. However, the University of Nebraska-Omaha commit blew up, potting 32 goals and 34 assists in 57 games. Ludtke’s 66 points were the second-most on the Lincoln roster and the seventh-most in the USHL.
Ludtke was equally as dangerous on the power play as in even-strength situations, recording 23 points (12 goals, 11 goals on the man advantage). The 18-year-old was selected in the third round, 81st overall, by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Mason Marcellus paced all Stars' skaters with 68 points while serving as the team’s captain. The second-year forward’s 49 assists and six game-winning goals were tied for the most and third-most in the league, respectively.
Aside from Ludtke and Marcellus, Lincoln saw six skaters record at least 40 points, including 45 points from defenseman Boston Buckberger.
Lincoln held off a late surge from Tri-City to secure the No. 3 in the Western Conference, drawing the Des Moines Buccaneers in the first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. The Stars topped the Bucs in the first round, Waterloo in a decisive Game 3 in the second round, before falling to Fargo in the Western Conference Finals.
“I thought we had a very successful season,” said Rocky Russo, who will be entering his third year as Lincoln’s head coach in 2023-24. “Obviously, everybody's goal at the beginning of the season is to win a Clark Cup championship, and we fell a little bit short of that, so that's disappointing.
“But after you have an opportunity to step back and reflect on the season as a whole, I felt it was really successful and a good step forward for our organization.”
Key Departures
Tanner Kudtke, F
Mason Marcellus, F
Doug Grimes, F
Boston Buckberger, D
Antonio Fernandez, D
Brennan Ali, F
Cameron Whitehead, G
Key Returners
Keaton Peters, F
Jared Mangan, F
Jack Larrigan, F
German Yavash, F
Lucas Massie, G
Patrick Raftery, F
Jack Pechar, F
Adam Kleber, D
Key Acquisitions
Justin Varner (acquired from Youngstown)
Blake Montgomery, F (2023 USHL Phase II Draft)
Tanner Henricks, D (2022 USHL Phase I Draft)
Nikita Meshcheryakov, F (free agent tryout)
Tender Signings
None
Three Keys To 2023-24
Massie’s Net
Like other teams in this situation, the Lincoln Stars are losing a ton of leadership with netminder Cameron Whitehead moving on.
A fourth-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022, Whitehead emerged as one of the best goalies in the league in 2022-23, posting a 2.83 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 43 games to go along with five shutouts.
“Cameron was a guy that we leaned on tremendously for stability in our net,” said Russo. “He was a calming presence for our group and was always there to make a big save for us when we needed them, and he was also a tremendous leader in the locker room. He was the guy that set the tone with his work ethic on a day-to-day basis.”
Luckily, the Stars are in a good spot in net, with Lucas Massie expected to be the featured netminder in 2023-24.
Massie saw action in 23 games, posting a 2.89 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage, and benefited from some experience playing in the postseason as well.
While he served in a secondary role to Whitehead last season, Massie received valuable time between the pipes to advance his development as he prepares for a full season of starts and everything that goes into that.
“Lucas had the opportunity to learn from Cameron, much like Cameron had the opportunity to learn from (Kaidan) Mbereko the year before,” Russo said. “So, Lucas comes back with the experience of going through a season in the USHL, which is invaluable, and it gives him certainly a good stepping stone to have a successful year this year.”
Forward Additions
Lincoln made two significant additions to the forwards group this summer in Nikita Meshcheryakov and Justin Varner.
The former got a look in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers as a 16-year-old, recording no points in 15 games during the 2021-22 season. Last year, Meshcheryakov blossomed at Northwood School (USHS-Prep) in Lake Placid, NY, scoring 36 goals and 46 assists. His 82 points were the second-most on the team.
Meshcheryakov came to Lincoln’s tryout camp as a free agent invite and made an impression on the coaching staff, so much so that the Stars added him to their protected list.
While there is no guarantee that he will make the Opening Night roster, Meshcheryakov brings a 6-foot-2, 187-pound frame with a ton of skill into training camp.
“He’s a big body, but he’s a very good skater. He’s got a great hockey IQ. He’s always around the net and in the dirty areas,” Russo said of Meshcheryakov. “He’s got a big body and protects pucks well, so he’s a guy that is definitely very intriguing going into the training camp process.”
Justin Varner comes to Lincoln via a late-summer trade from Youngstown. The 19-year-old forward has two years of USHL experience under his belt and won a Clark Cup championship with the Phantoms in 2022-23.
Varner had matching 27-point seasons in his first two years, but as a veteran coming onto the Stars roster, he could see a bump in ice time and therefore production.
“We felt like Justin Varner brought something that maybe we were missing a little bit,” Russo said. “He's got a lot of experience in the league. He's been through the playoff process. He's won a championship, and he was an alternate captain on that team. So, he brings experience from that perspective.”
Strong Returning Group
Lincoln will turn over their leadership group last season, one that included guys like Ludtke, Marcellus, Buckberger, Doug Grimes, Antonio Fernandez, and Brennan Ali.
That’s certainly nothing out of the ordinary in junior hockey. All teams go through it, but considering the wave of skaters exiting, Lincoln returns an exciting crop of players that could help the team to its first Clark Cup title since 2003.
Both Keaton Peters and Jared Mangan are back after each scored at least 31 points in 2022-23. Mangan returns for his second season with the Stars and third in the USHL. While some may have expected the 20-year-old to make the jump to Clarkson University, the plan for the veteran forward was always to play two years with Lincoln.
The expectation with both players returning is that they will take on leadership roles while seeing an increase in production.
“Two years ago, we lost Aidan Thompson, Lucas Wahlin, and Noah Laba, so guys have to take the next step in their development and take on more of a leadership role,” said Russo.
“It was a challenge to lose those guys, but Antonio (Fernandez), and Mason (Marcellus), and Boston (Buckberger), and Doug (Grimes), in that group, stepped up last year and filled those fill those roles from a hockey perspective and a leadership perspective. And so this year, it's the opportunity for (Jared) Mangan and (Keaton) Peters and company to do the same thing.”
Along with those two, Lincoln will return forwards Jack Larrigan, German Yavash, Patrick Raftery, and Jack Pechar, with defensemen Adam Kleber returning and Tanner Henricks expected to compete for a roster spot in training camp.
Given the sheer quantity and quality of talent returning in 2023-24, it’s not difficult to picture the Lincoln Stars coming out of the West in the Clark Cup Finals.
“We have a lot of guys that have the ability to step up and take on leadership roles and, between what we have coming back and the job we did with the draft this year and the guys that are going to join our team full time from our affiliate list, it’s exciting,” Russo added.