Playing Career
Lyashenko spent three seasons playing with Yaroslavl Torpedo in his home country of Russia. In 130 games, he recorded 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points. While playing with Yaroslavl, he was selected in the second round (52nd overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. Leading up to the draft, scouts described him as a defensive forward with good character and leadership skills. He was considered an atypical Russian prospect due to his attention to defensive play. Some previews for the draft had him ranked as a first round prospect. He signed with the Stars in July, 1999.
Lyashenko made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars during the 1999–2000 season, seeing action in 58 games, while recording six goals and six assists. He also spent time with the Stars' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate Michigan K-Wings, notching five points in nine games. During his rookie season in the NHL, Lyashenko played center on the Stars second line, earning praise from coach Ken Hitchcock, "His game has risen beyond his years. He's 20 years old in age only. He looks like a real good fit for us." The Stars went to the Stanley Cup Finals this season, but lost to the New Jersey Devils. In the Stars' first round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, Lyashenko scored the winning goal in the first game of the series. During the 2000 Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche, Lyashenko scored the series clinching goal in game 7. Lyashenko played in 16 playoff games for the Stars. During the playoffs in his rookie season, Hitchcock was happy with Lyashenko's play, saying "He's an exceptional defensive player -- his offensive skills have improved as the season's gone on."
During the 2000–2001 season, Lyashenko again split time between the Stars and the Utah Grizzlies, who were the Stars' new IHL affiliate. At the end of the season, Lyashenko had played 60 games with the Stars and recorded nine points. At the IHL level, he played in six games and had one assist. Lyashenko was popular with his teammates in Dallas, at one point his teammates lobbied Hitchcock to get him more playing time.
On March 12, 2002, Lyashenko and Martin Rucinsky were traded to the New York Rangers for Manny Malhotra and Barrett Heisten. During the 2001–2002 season, Lyashenko played for four different teams, the Stars and Rangers at the NHL level as well as the IHL's Grizzlies, and the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League (AHL). In his last season of professional hockey, Lyashenko played two games with the Rangers in the NHL, and 71 with the Wolfpack in the AHL. He put up the best numbers of his career in North America, with 23 goals and 35 assists. He played in the 2003 AHL All-Star Game, despite having asked for a release midway through the season to return to Russia. The request was denied by the Rangers, but his agent Todd Diamond said there were other teams interested in the forward's services, "Several teams were interested in him because they knew he wasn't a fourth-line guy."
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