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"Off the top of the head" prospect series, Boston Bruins prospects, Jack Ahcan , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Off the top of the head: Jack Ahcan

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Continuing the Bruins prospect series where we do quick break downs on players based on what we know about them through viewings and have read recently- not a comprehensive deep-dive but just enough information to get the conversation started.

Jack Ahcan, LD

Undrafted; Signed 2-year ELC; March 2020

Current team: TBD (Providence Bruins AHL- expected)

Previous team: St. Cloud State Huskies (NCHC)

Strengths: Outstanding skater; dynamic speed, small-area burst/first-steps, straight-line speed and superior edgework and agility. 4.5/5 out of 5 skater. Very good puck skills; can skate pucks out of danger on his own or hit any range of passes to kickstart the transition game into high gear. Good vision and hockey sense; can anticipate/read/react to help him defend or distribute pucks when he joins the rush or runs the PP. Activates at the right times. Good stick. Leader- was team captain as a senior and plays with pace and jam- a little engine that could type.

Weaknesses: Undersized; will have to be smart in how he plays the position/employs his stick- won’t be able to match up physically with most of the players he’ll find himself in 1-on-1 battles with. Shot is an area for improvement- release is quick/snaps off his stick and is accurate/low for net-front tips and deflections, but power/velocity is a work in progress.

Overall analysis: A coup for Boston- he probably should have been drafted at some point, so the Bruins did very well to sign him away from teams like Colorado. The Avalanche had an inside track due to his attendance of their development camp/previous relationship. Boston employed team effort approach, leveraging multiple connections in Minnesota (Player development director Jamie Langenbrunner) and their NCAA scouting staff (Scott Fitzgerald, Brett Harkins), a scout with junior coaching connections (Doug Leaverton) and players (Charlie McAvoy– WJC roommate and Tuukka Rask– same player agency) to land their target. Ahcan may not have size, but he brings all the attributes NHL teams desire in smaller players, regardless of position. He’s fast, skilled, smart and competitive- don’t be surprised if Ahcan is playing games in Boston at some point this season.

Projection: Smart signing that serves as a hedge as Torey Krug’s potential unrestricted free agency draws closer and the expansion draft looms a little further in the distance. The Bruins could lose a good, young D in the expansion draft, so bringing in a player like Ahcan helps to shore up the organizational depth to help guard against that. The inevitable comparisons to Krug, Matt Grzelcyk and other smallish D around the NHL is inevitable, but Ahcan’s all-around body of work (he was USHL defenseman of the year, was a member of the USA gold medal-winning 2017 World Jr. team, received numerous NCHC honors) and his skill set, along with work ethic and leadership intangibles, make him an impressive add given his status as a UDFA.

Watch for him to start out in Providence of the AHL, where he’ll get a chance to earn a significant slice of playing time and special teams play. As an NHL D, his ceiling could be as a solid 3/4 and PP contributor. He’ll have to overcome the stigma associated with being on the smaller side and being undrafted to boot- much like Krug has had to do (and let’s face it- some fans have never gotten on board with No. 47), but when you talk about the hackneyed word (at least in scouting parlance) upside, Ahcan has it.

Here’s a dated profile from his freshman season and also interviewed is then-SCSU (and USA WJC coach) Bob Motzko

 

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Report: St. Cloud D Jack Ahcan signs with B’s

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Per award-winning NCAA beat writer Brad Schlossman/Grand Forks Herald (and retweeted by Elliotte Friedman), St. Cloud State Huskies senior defenseman Jack Ahcan is signing with the Boston Bruins after a superb college career. The signing is for a reportedly two years.

Although small in stature, Ahcan (uh-SHAWN) plays a big game: he’s explosive and dynamic on his skates- able to play with a lot of pace and has real skill from the back end to move pucks, along with some jam for one who is around 5’8″. He’s highly capable on special teams and has a little bit of both Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk to his game. His style also reminds of Los Angeles Kings rookie Mikey Anderson. If you’re going to be an undersized D in pro hockey, then you need the kind of attributes he possesses.

Don Sweeney and company are doing this less than a week after signing fellow undrafted NCHC standout  6-5 hard-nosed D Nick Wolff– some thunder to Ahcan’s lightning. Oh yeah- and like Wolff- he wore the ‘C’

Scott Fitzgerald, who handles a lot of the NCAA work for the B’s, and amateur scout Doug Leaverton, who was Ahcan’s assistant coach with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in 2015-16, are likely key behind the scenes players to getting this done. He previously attended Columbus, L.A. Kings and Colorado development camps, so there was undoubtedly some interest around the NHL for him. (Edit- Big assist to Charlie McAvoy as well, per Mick Hatten in TheRinkLive.com. McAvoy and Ahcan were teammates/roommates on the USA WJC gold medal-winning squad in 2017- McAvoy apparently was key in selling the St. Cloud d-man on choosing Boston over Denver.)

We’ll break some film down on him and give a more detailed analysis in a bit, but for now, this is one more sign that the B’s aren’t resting on their laurels and with NHL expansion looming/another draft a year-plus from now, it makes sense to hedge the bets and infuse the organization with some flexibility to offset what is sure to be a good player heading to Seattle. (We talk about that on the upcoming 3 Amigos podcast)