CEDAR RAPIDS — The NHL’s Boston Bruins signed former Cedar Rapids RoughRiders defenseman Jack Ahcan to a two-year, entry level contract Thursday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca. Ahcan was an undrafted free agent.
Ahcan recently completed his senior college hockey season at St. Cloud State, where he was team captain. He had seven goals and 18 assists in 33 games.
The 22-year-old played for the RoughRiders in the 2015-16 season, when he scored 14 goals and had 30 assists in 58 games. He was named the United States Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year, the only Rider to ever win that award. Ahcan and former RoughRiders teammate Erik Foley were on a United States team that won the 2017 World Junior Championship.
“I am very humbled and honored to join the Boston Bruins organization,” Ahcan said in a tweet. “It is truly a dream come true for me and my family. When the time is right, I look forward to getting started with my new teammates. More importantly, please stay stay, stay healthy and stay positive.”
“Jack Ahcan is a nice get for the Bruins,” said Mark Divver, who closely follows college hockey and Bruins prospects. “Underrated as a defender, he has excellent hands, and his IQ and vision complement the rest of his skill set. NHL scout I talked to this winter called him a modern day defenseman.”
Another former RoughRiders defenseman, junior Scotty Perunovich of Minnesota-Duluth, recently won player of the year honors in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, over Ahcan and Jordan Kawaguchi of North Dakota.
Here’s a link to a story on Ahcan after he was named USHL Defenseman of the Year: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/blogs/diamonds-and-ice-by-jeff-johnson/jack-ahcan-of-cedar-rapids-roughriders-named-ushl-defenseman-of-the-year-20160509.
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