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Bruins are getting a “fiery competitor” in undrafted free agent Jack Ahcan |
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Once the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to the remainder of the 2019-20 college hockey season, NHL teams were chomping at the bit to sign this year’s crop of undrafted free agents. The Bruins were no different signing a pair of collegiate defensemen in Minnesota Duluth’s Nick Wolff and St. Cloud State’s Jack Ahcan.
“He’s a fiery competitor, he was our captain this year and captained a really young team through some of the growth and I think he did a great job with that,” St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson told Hockeybuzz Tuesday.
“The Bruins organization is getting a really strong character player first and foremost. Secondly, he’s a gamer. He’s the guy you want with the puck on his stick when big moments in the game come and he finds ways to get it done. I really like that about him, he’s the kind of guy you want in charge when things are on the line.”
When Ahcan began his college hockey tenure at St. Cloud State, Larson was an assistant coach at his alma mater Minnesota Duluth. Although he only coached Ahcan for his junior and senior seasons, Larson says he has always been a fan of his.
“I’ve always been a big fan of him, even coaching against him. He’s got I’d say the coach’s dream of skill and compete. He’s that guy that’s got the skill to make the play, but he’s going to try to out compete anybody. Plays with his heart and plays for his teammates. My appreciation only grew when I got to coach him,” said Larson.
At 5-foot-8, Ahcan has always had to go out and prove himself, showing that he’s not deserving of the undersized defenseman label.
Ahcan represented Team USA at the World Junior Championship—where he was a teammate of Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy—in 2017, winning gold in the process. Ahcan went undrafted in the ensuing NHL entry draft.
Going undrafted just added to the long list of motivating factors that drives Ahcan’s game.
“I think that’s who he is, he’s always been the underdog a little bit and going undrafted was just another part of that. He’s a kid that I think his competitive spirit, fighter, comes from having to prove himself at a small size,” said Larson. “He’s always been looked at too small, or he’s too this, or he’s too that and he’s always found a way to prove to people that he can do it and that he can make it.”
Despite going undrafted in 2017, Ahcan has been on the radar of many NHL teams during his time at St. Cloud State, joining the Avalanche, Blue Jackets and Kings at different development camps as a camp invite in each summer. The respective camps provided Ahcan an opportunity to prove himself to different organizations each year.
“I think they’re always good because they put you in an unfamiliar environment where you’re showing yourself. You’ve got to find a way to bring your best in front of the organization,” Larson said of NHL development camps. “I think every time you go to something like that, it just helps you grow. I think it was just part of Jack’s development and maturity process.
As we’ve seen in Boston with smaller defenseman like Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk, just because they don’t have the makeup of a prototypical defensemen doesn’t mean they can’t be effective in the corners and on the puck.
“The one thing about him is that his height physically is not very big, but he’s very compact, thick and strong. So when he gets into a physical confrontation in the corners for a puck battle or for finishing a check, he’s got a certain strength and stability to him,” Larson added. “He may be short in stature, but he’s extremely strong on his skates which helps him be who he is.
Making the transition from the NCAA to the NHL or AHL is never easy. But after seeing what kind of compete level Ahcan brings on a day-to-day basis, Larson has no doubt Ahcan can make the jump and will be prepared to enter training camp—whenever that may be—and work as hard as he can.
“He’s just so committed, he’s going to work extremely hard this summer to be prepared and I know it’s never an easy transition, but again I think in the past he’s going to have that sense that he wants to prove himself and prove himself quickly,” said Larson. “He’s going to go in there and show his compete level, and when he shows that, combined with his skill, I think he’s going to make a great impression.”
One of the benefits of going undrafted is that you essentially get to pick which of the interested teams you’re going to sign with. It’s a decision that can often be overwhelming for a young player. But for Jack, he had the fortune of following the blueprint created the previous season by teammate Jimmy Schuldt who signed with the Vegas Golden Knights when his collegiate career came to an end.
“That’s something we make sure we are doing our best to communicate with the players on. Obviously every year you’re going through it with a few free agents, especially Jimmy Schuldt the year before,” Larson said. “I think Jack was able to kind of use that as a guide. Jimmy had really consulted with us a lot and so did Jack.”
Despite both Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug being pending unrestricted free agents at seasons end, the Bruins have a logjam of left-shot defensemen on their blue line. Grzelcyk, John Moore and Jeremy Lauzon will all be back in the mix next season, while prospects Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril will be fighting for a roster spot.
The Bruins signing both Wolff and Ahcan just days apart only adds to the internal competition the Bruins are always looking to create. Larson coached Wolff during his time at Minnesota Duluth and could see Wolff and Ahcan being defensive partners somewhere down the road.
“I could see those two being a great pair because they complement each other real well,” said Larson.
“Both of those kids are high-end competitors and that’s probably one of the reasons why they [the Bruins] did recruit them, because they know that there’s a lot of competition within that organization. Both of those guys will try to find ways to compete to make the lineup. I think they’re both competing for different spots which is a nice thing because they both have different skillsets. But one thing they have in common is that they're both fierce competitors.”
Ahcan has an uphill battle ahead of him if he looks to crack the Bruins roster anytime soon, but it’s clear that facing an uphill battle is something Ahcan has gotten used to and something he's always conquered.
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