If you’re at a Muskegon Lumberjacks game, you might very well be watching a future top pick in the NHL draft take the ice and score a goal. The Lumberjacks play their games in the Eastern Conference of the USHL (USA Hockey’s top junior ice hockey league), and their roster is studded with some of the best junior players in the world. In fact, former Lumberjack Andrei Svechnikov was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and has since been putting up major points for the Carolina Hurricanes. Head coach Mike Hamilton’s team is led by players like captain Dylan Wendt and sharpshooting forwards Cameron Berg and Daniel Muschin, who both score at better than a point per game pace. Lumberjacks games at Mercy Arena are one of the biggest tickets in Western Michigan, with reasonably priced single game tickets that are generally in high demand. There are partial-season flex packs, reserved Party Decks, and season tickets that include perks like shoreline parking, discounts on team merch and even a free beer. With Mercy Arena located just steps away from restaurants, breweries, the Muskegon Museum of Art and the Saturday Muskegon Farmers Market, attending a Lumberjacks game makes for memorable days and nights.

Muskegon Lumberjacks Background

Founded in 2010, the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks kept the name of a former storied IHL franchise. The team is a premier destination for junior hockey players aged 16-21 and is nothing short of a breeding ground for NHL talent. Russian forward and former USHL Rookie of the Year Andrei Svechnikov is the most high-profile former Lumberjack, but there’s a long list of Jacks who went on to be drafted by NHL teams, including goaltender Keith Petruzzelli by the Detroit Red Wings, and defenseman Christian Wolanin by the Ottawa Senators. NHL great goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was also the team’s general manager until 2018. Located just off the shore of beautiful Muskegon Lake, Mercy Arena has a capacity of 3,000 for hockey games and is also home to the Muskegon Risers SC arena soccer team and the Western Michigan Ironmen indoor football team.