Lincoln Stars General Manager Nick Fabrizio has been named USHL GM of the Year, the league announced Thursday.
Fabrizio is Lincoln's second GM of the Year in the Tier-1 era and third in team history. All end-of-season league awards were nominated and voted upon by team general managers. Teams were not permitted to vote for themselves.
Fabrizio oversaw a 32-point turnaround from the previous season, with the Stars posting a 44-15-3-0 record vs. a 27-30-3-2 mark in 2023-24. The Chicago, Ill. native assembled the highest-scoring offense in the USHL, averaging 4.39 goals per game, and the best defense in the league, limiting opponents to 2.68 goals per game.
Backed by second-year starting goalie Yan Shostak, Fabrizio helped build one of the top offensive teams in the league with Jack Pechar, Daniel Shlaine, Dashel Oliver, and Gio Digiulian notching more than 50 points for the first time in their USHL careers.
In addition, Fabrizio acquired Bruno Idzan from KHL Sisak in the AlpsHL, who had 1.22 points per game since Dec. 12, and Hunter Anderson from the Sioux Falls Stampede, who had eight points in 15 games for the Herd before finishing the season with 26 points in 30 games for the Stars.
Shostak, USHL Goalie of the Year, Pechar, and defenseman Etienne Lessard were named to the All-USHL Teams for the 2024-25 season, and goaltender William Prowse was named to the All-USHL Rookie Team.
While the Stars were eliminated in the Clark Cup Western Conference Finals by the Waterloo Black Hawks, Fabrizio and the club had a historic season. Falling short of a championship is always a disappointment, but they certainly have a lot to build on for next season.