Will the Boston Bruins ever be without defensive depth? Probably not.
While the NHL season is on pause due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney wasted no time in signing undrafted free agent defenseman Jack Ahcan out of St. Cloud State, and he seems pretty excited about getting things rolling in Boston.
Mark Divver, a hockey writer who has in-depth knowledge of college hockey and its players gave us a little insight as to what we might expect from Ahcan.
Before college hockey, Ahcan played for Burnsville High School in Minnesota and also played for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League. He was a member of USA Hockey's U20 team at the World Junior Championship in 2016-17 and notched an assist through seven games.
The 22-year-old spent four seasons at St. Cloud State, tallying 21 goals and 82 assists for 103 points in 144 games -- not bad for a defenseman. He is just the third defenseman in St. Cloud State history to score 100-plus points and was selected as the team captain for the 2019-20 campaign.
Boston Bruins
Is it a coincidence Ahcan decided to sign with Boston? Who knows, but when he visited Boston for a matchup with the Boston College Eagles in 2018, he couldn't wait to tour the home of the Boston Red Sox.
"We're taking a little tour of Fenway (Park) and I've always wanted to go there," Ahcan said in 2018, according to Mick Hatten of the St. Cloud Times. "I've seen it on TV with the Green Monster (fence) and I love baseball.
"I'm excited to get out there and see the atmosphere."
Did the Boston atmosphere play a role in the young defenseman signing with Boston? It's possible, but we'll surely hear from the new Bruin when the signing is officially announced.
Anyway, it certainly looks like B's defenseman Torey Krug is pretty pleased with the signing.
Ahcan isn't the only player Sweeney has signed since the NHL season was put on hold. The B's have also reportedly signed defenseman Nick Wolff out of Minnesota-Duluth while also signing goaltender and 2017 fourth-round pick Jeremy Swayman to an entry-level contract.