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Dzhioshvili Joins Big Red

April 27, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Bloomington Thunder News Release


Bloomington, IL - After seeing considerable time as an affiliate player with the Bloomington Thunder at the end of the 2014-15 regular season, forward Vladislav Dzhioshvili (Cornell University) has announced his future college commitment. The forward made his announcement to attend Cornell University via Twitter Sunday afternoon saying, "I am very excited to announce my commitment to (Cornell University), and I would like to thank everyone who has been helping me get there! Thank you."

In his short time with the Thunder, Dzhioshvili opened the connection with Cornell, which expanded even more when he returned home to Pennsylvania. "I went on a visit (to see the school) and loved everything about it. I loved the campus, the hockey program, the coaches, and everything else," said Dzhioshvili.

After growing up in his hometown of Moscow, Russia, Dzhioshvili has seen considerable playing time in North America. Since 2013, the Thunder affiliate has played for the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights Tier III junior program. He proved himself capable of the next step when he joined the Thunder for the final nine games of the 2014-15 season. Dzhioshvili capped off his first games in the United States Hockey League with five points (3g, 2a) and finished on a four-game point streak. He also recorded a +4 rating and had the game winning goal in a 4-3 decision against the Chicago Steel on 4/3/15.

"This is a very rare opportunity for a Russian player," said Dzhioshvili. "Most Russian born players don't have the chance to go to college and will try to go straight to the NHL. So I'm very happy that I can get an education and play division-I college hockey."

Thunder Head Coach and General Manager Dennis Williams is looking forward to seeing Dzhioshvili back in the blue and green in 2015-16. "Vlad was a very great player for us down the stretch. The last nine games he took some big strides. He showed that he can play at the USHL level. So we expect him to come in and be a big component to our offense next season."

Before joining the Thunder, Dzhioshvili finished the year with the Knights U16 team who went on to win the United States Premier Hockey League championship. He had 11 points in five playoff games including a hat trick in the championship game. The 5-foot-10 forward played in 29 games in '14-15, scoring 32 points (21g, 11a) split between the U16 and U18 teams. In his career with the Knights, Dzhioshvili played in 55 games and scored 95 points (55g, 40a).

The 17-year old becomes the second player in a Thunder sweater to commit to the Big Red. During the 2014 preseason, former Thunder defenseman Matt Nuttle (Cornell University) also made his announcement to Cornell.

There is still time for Dzhioshvili to excel and develop according to Coach Williams. "What a lot of people might not recognize is Vlad's still young. He is just finishing up his sophomore year in high school. He wants to move on to college hockey, that's what he came over to North America to play.

"He'll be going to a great Ivy League hockey program with some great academics, so we couldn't be happier for him."

Dzhioshvili was drafted by the Thunder in the third round with the 40th overall pick in the 2014 USHL Phase I Entry Draft. The Thunder also selected defenseman Konstantin Chernyuk (University of Maine) with their next selection in the draft. Chernyuk and Dzhioshvili have been teammates with the Knights program since 2013. He is also the brother of another Thunder affiliate, Maxim Dzhioshvili who played four games with the team in 2014-15, finishing out the year with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the North American Hockey League.

The 2015 USHL Phase I Draft will be held on 5/4/15 and Phase II will continue on 5/5/15. Follow along to the Thunder's social media for draft updates and results. Also head to draft.USHL.com Monday to watch Bloomington broadcaster Brian Tosti and Tri-City broadcaster Jared Shafran on the USHL Phase I Draft Show starting at 6:00 pm CST.

The Thunder will be drafting their team in Bloomington this season thanks to the hospitality of the Holiday Inn Airport Conference Center.

Season Tickets: 2015-16 will be here before you know it and for just $50 we can reserve your season tickets for the Bloomington Thunder at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. If you reserve before June 1st, you'll be entered to win an all-expenses paid flight to Las Vegas! Plans start at just $240 and youth season tickets are $150 for all the same benefits. Head to BloomingtonThunder.com for a full list of benefits and pricing options to go with our new seating map. Call the Thunder office at (309) 434-2980 for information and booking.



United States Hockey League Stories from April 27, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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