(LEBANON, Ill., June 16)—McKendree University D1 hockey coach Garry Henson has announced the signing of four more student-athletes who will compete for the Bearcats in the 2020-21 academic year.
 
The quartet are all forwards and includes a pair of international players – Sweden's Jesper Lundqvist and Kirill Proskurin from Russia – along with two players from North America – Lucas Brown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Karsten Portell from McKinney, Texas.
 
Lundqvist joins the McKendree program after spending the 2019-20 season with the Dallas Snipers of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL). In 45 games last season,  Lundqvist netted 11 goals and added 14 assists for 25 points. Prior to that, Lundqvist spent two seasons playing for Borlange HF 20 A in his native Sweden.
 
"Jesper is fun to watch," said Henson. "He is fast and has a cannon for a shot. We are really excited to see him wearing the Bearcat logo this fall."
 
Proskurin, who is from Moscow, transfers to McKendree after pumping in 17 goals and 20 assists for Marian University during the 2018-19 season. Like Lundqvist, Proskurin is also a product of the WSHL, where he registered 22 goals along with 27 assists in his final season in the league.
 
"Kirill will bring tons of energy, experience and skill to McKendree," said Henson. "He loves the game and it shows every time he steps on the ice."
 
Brown comes to McKendree from the Marian University program, where he appeared in 21 games last season. Brown posted seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points for the Sabres. Before that he played for the Ottawa West Golden Knights of the Central Canada Hockey League 2, scoring nine goals to go along with 20 assists for 29 points in 34 games in 2018-19.
 
"Lucas will add much-needed depth and skill for us up the middle," said Henson. "We fully expect him to have an immediate impact at both ends of the ice. Lucas and new recruit Brad Richardson are former teammates and will have instant chemistry which is such a bonus given the core group we graduated last year."
 
Portell spent the last three seasons playing for the Dallas Snipers of the WSHL. He notched career-high totals in goals (9), assists (16) and points (25) during his final season with the program in 2019-20. Portell registered his lone career hat trick with Dallas in his next-to-last game with the squad in late February.
 
"Karsten is just good," said Henson. "He has three years of junior hockey experience and plays a style that will fit well in our systems. The ceiling on this young man is so high."
 
The McKendree University D1 hockey team posted an overall record of 20-6 with a 16-4 mark in the inaugural season of competition for Midwest College Hockey (MCH). The Bearcats captured the regular-season crown in MCH and went on to win the league's first post-season tournament.