The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they have signed forward Ilya Usau to a three-year, entry-level contract. Additional terms of the deal were not made available. Usau was previously undrafted and last played in North America for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL in 2019-20.
Usau, who was born in Minsk, Belarus, first came to North America in 2017-18, where he played in just four games for the Central Illinois Flying Aces of the USHL. He would return once again for his age 18 season, where he played for Prince Albert. there, he had an impressive 22 goals and 30 assists in 58 games for the Raiders. After a strong showing, he would return to Belarus and sign with his hometown team Dynamo Minsk of the KHL. In 2020-21, he recorded just three goals and three assists in 56 games as a 19-year-old. However, Usau took a step in his development this year, putting up nine goals and 17 assists in 40 games for Minsk this season.