As UConn Hockey made the transition from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East, Mike Cavanaugh and his staff needed top notch talent to get the Huskies headed in the right direction....Yes they brought in Tage Thompson, but his line mate, born in Russia and spent three years playing hockey in the states was about to make a difference as well...That would be Maxim Letunov. And together the duo would make sweet music...
Max born in Moscow, moved to the Dallas Area in 2012 and played for the Dallas Stars U-16 Team. Where he led the Stars with 29 goals and 37 assists to lead his team to the USA Nationals in Pittsburgh. Next stop, Youngstown, Ohio and the Phantoms of the USHL. Where in two seasons, he racked up 107 points..19g-24a in year one including 17 points on the power play...Season two, 24g-39a and a second team USHL Selection...And a second round pick of the NHL -St Louis Blues. Mike Cavanaugh and his staff noticed..and at a time getting good, local talent wasn't easy and still isn't, going the European route has been a norm for the Huskies...Letunov joined UConn for the 2015-16 season....
His debut wasn't too shabby, a hat trick at Alabama-Huntsville as part of a 5 game point streak to begin his career. That included a pair of goals at BU and 3 assists on Tage Thompson's first career hat trick in the return game against the Terriers. Nine multi-point games, and points in 16 of 17 games from November 17th thru February 6th as the Huskies battled to get home ice for the opening weekend in the Hockey East Playoffs. WIth Max and Tage leading the way, UConn's freshman were 5th nationally in scoring...41 goals, 67 assists for 107 points...Letunov leading the way with 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points...A UConn D-I Freshman Record and #2 overall for freshman in Storrs...Thompson complimented him with 14g-18a..Letunov, with Thompson on the Hockey East All Rookie Team...Max a second team Hockey East All Star as well...
As a sophomore, Max took a step back...saying himself in a Courant Article before his third season he didn't prepare the right way physically or mentally....And the results showed..He did assist on 20 goals, mainly with Thompson as a linemate, but only seven goals..His first two in a 4-2 at Notre Dame, 2 assists in a 3-2 win at Lowell, 2 assists in a 3-1 win over UMass and two more against Maine...In fact he'd end the regular season on a mini three game point streak as the Huskies continued to build it's way up in Hockey East, but Northeastern ended it quickly in the playoffs...At season's end, Mike Cavanaugh didn't have to say much to Max about what was expected of him for the 2017-18 season, especially with Thompson signing with the NHL Blues....
Letunov was now offensive option #1 with Spencer Naas #2 for the 17-18' campaign. He didn't disappoint, but the Huskies were streaky..A slow start, but they won five of six heading into exams...Another slow start to the second half, but a five game losing skid started the second half of the season. The turning point, a weekend split with #10 Providence, including a huge 3-1 win at PC that ignited the Ice Bus to the tune of a seven game win streak...Letunov scoring five goals in that stretch, including a 1g-2a night in the epic come from behind 5-4 win over BU at the XL Center...Max would score one goal in game one of the Hockey East Quarterfinals at BU where the Huskies would lose a pair of tough one goal games, including the opener in Overtime...12 goals, 16 assists earning Max 2nd Team Hockey East Honors...
In Max Letunov's three seasons playing for UConn, 35 goals and 60 assists for 95 points..Among the best in the UConn/Hockey East Era...While Letunov played at UConn, his NHL rights were traded.....twice. To Arizona in 2015 and then San Jose in 2017....Where Max went after the 2017-18 season....playing for it's AHL Affiliate, also in San Jose, Letunov has scored 24 goals and racked up 68 assists in two seasons. And he got his first taste of NHL Hockey this past February...his first game against Calgary on February 4th...his first goal two days later on a rebound at Edmonton...His status is to be determined as his contract with the Sharks has run out...
But in his time as a Husky, he made a huge impression on helping UConn gain respectability in Hockey East..A Two Time All Conference selection is also a UConn Legend...Maxim Letunov