After just one season playing under Chris Lazary with the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Stepan Shurygin will have to get used to a new voice in the locker room. On Wednesday, it was announced that Saginaw's long-time head coach had departed the organization and accepted a job as an associate coach for the University of Michigan in the NCAA. Shurygin, the Lightning's sixth-round pick this summer, moved to North America ahead of the 2025-26 season and his performances with the Spirit were enough to get him drafted, although they did leave quite a bit to be desired. In his only season under Lazary, Shurygin picked up a 24-27-7 record while registering an .888 save percentage and 3.79 goals against average. Lazary joined the Spirit organization nearly a decade ago as an assistant coach, then quickly found himself promoted to the head coaching position. After more than half a decade as their head coach, he apparently wanted a new challenge and went to the increasingly popular NCAA.
