The New York Islanders American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers announced the signing of Trail native Travis St. Denis to a pro contract on Friday.
St. Denis will return to the Tigers after agreeing to terms on a one year deal for the 2017-18 season.
St. Denis, 24, played 50 games with the Sound Tigers last season and registered 12 goals and 20 points. The Trail native recorded an assist in his professional debut on Oct. 15 and scored his first pro goal on Dec. 2, the game-winner in a 3-1 victory against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Prior to his professional career, St. Denis collected 125 points (60 goals, 65 assists) and a plus-30 rating in 162 games at Quinnipiac University. He served as an alternate captain during his senior season and helped the Bobcats reach the 2016 NCAA National Championship. St. Denis also led Quinnipiac with a career-high 27 assists and ranked second on the club in scoring with 49 points as a senior. He and the Bobcats reached the 16-team Frozen Four Tournament in each of his four collegiate seasons.
The five-foot-seven, 170-pound forward played four seasons in the BCHL with the Trail Smoke Eaters and Penticton Vees from 2008-12. During that time, he racked up 225 points (99 goals, 126 assists) in 203 games and led Penticton to a BCHL Championship and RBC Cup title in 2012.
As for Connor and Kellen Jones, the Montrose twins are two of several roster players yet to be signed for the upcoming season.
After signing with the Islanders near the end of last season and playing in four NHL games, Connor is a restricted free agent and will either re-sign with the NHL team or become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Kellen will be an unrestricted free agent if not signed by Bridgeport before July 1.
All NHL contracts run through June 30, which means no team other than the Islanders can sign these players before July 1. All AHL contracts are one-year deals that also run through June 30, but those players can sign with any NHL club at any point, however they cannot sign with an AHL team (aside from Bridgeport) until July 1. Therefore, the Sound Tigers’ 2017-18 roster won’t begin to take shape until early to mid July.
AHL rosters have the potential to change considerably from year to year. For instance, only 17 players who appeared in at least 20 games with Bridgeport during the 2015-16 season returned last year.