KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm defenseman Bode Laylin has been named United States Hockey League (USHL) Defenseman of the Week for games played between February 9-15, the league announced Monday.
Laylin put up five points (3-2-5) over Tri-City's two-game series at Chicago across Saturday and Sunday.
The St. Thomas commit began the weekend with his first career multi-goal game Saturday, scoring the Storm's first and second markers in a 3-2 come-from-behind win. Sunday, Laylin added three more points by netting a breakaway overtime game-winning goal and contributing two assists to hand Tri-City a 4-3 victory and sweep over the Steel.
The right-shot player has collected USHL Defenseman of the Week Honors twice in the past three weeks. Laylin picked up the award for games played between January 26-February 1, when he amassed six points (2-4-6) during a three-game Tri-City weekend.
Over his past six appearances, Laylin has recorded 11 points (5-6-11), the highest in a six-game stretch during his Storm career.
Laylin's explosive season continues to roll at an impressive pace. The 2007-born player has compiled career-highs in goals (9), assists (23) and points (32). Laylin ties for second among USHL defenseman in goals and shares third in points. He's first on the Storm roster in assists. Laylin's career-high five power play goals additionally top the team and tie for second among league blue liners.
In January, Laylin was ranked #103 among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings, which named the top eligible players for this summer's 2026 NHL Draft.
Laylin's 2025-2026 has been highlighted by several additional honors. The Storm assistant captain competed alongside top 2026 NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the USHL and U.S. National Team Development Program in January's Chipotle All-American Game at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Laylin also won gold, alongside Tri-City teammate Carson Pilgrim, at December's 2025 World Junior A Challenge tournament in Quebec as a member of Team USA.
Laylin is competing in his third season with time at Tri-City. A year ago, he put up 19 points in 59 games. Laylin made his USHL and Storm debut during the 2023-2024 campaign, when he appeared in nine matchups.
This is the fifth time a Tri-City player has earned a USHL weekly honor during 2025-2026. Storm goaltender Michal Pradel has twice been named USHL Goaltender of the Week. Pilgrim collected USHL Forward of the Week honors in October.
Tri-City returns home to host the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-17 squad on Friday (7:05 pm CT puckdrop) and Saturday (6:05 pm CT puckdrop) at Viaero Center.
Kids tickets are $5.00 on Friday with the purchase of an adult ticket courtesy of the FunZone Arcade inside of Pizza Ranch Kearney.
Fans can purchase tickets at stormhockey.com.
