Comox’s Logan Nijhoff will be lacing up with the Anaheim Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate.
He recently signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The deal was actually sealed a few weeks back, but it was announced April 7.
Nijhoff is finishing up his junior career as captain of the WHL’s Regina Pats. After that, he expects to join the Gulls.
“I’ll be heading down there after the season comes to an end,” he told the Record.
The deal was in the works for a while, as Nijhoff had been in discussions with the team.
“We had conversations all year,” he said.
RELATED STORY: Comox hockey star named captain of WHL team
Nijhoff actually took part in the Ducks’ training camp last fall, which included several current Anaheim stars.
“It opened my eyes to how many good players there are,” he said.
He rejoined the Pats for the 2021-22 year, his fifth and final season as well as his second as team captain, and just tallied his first hat trick with the team on April 5 against Brandon.
He credits the coaches in Regina for their mentoring and the opportunities they gave him, especially with the team during the Memorial Cup.
“I’ve been very fortunate to play in Regina my entire career,” he said.
He credits this experience for helping to show him the dedication needed to persevere and move up the ranks.
“With hockey, there’s a lot of off-ice work,” he said.
While his ultimate goal is to make the NHL, for now his focus is on becoming the best player he can be within the Gulls’ organization.
“It’s certainly going to be a lot of hard work,” he said.
Nijhoff played his minor hockey in the Comox Valley, then attended the Okanagan Hockey Academy before becoming a member of the Pats in the 2016 bantam draft.
This season with Regina, he’s racked up 20 goals and 23 assists in 52 games, and he’s been one of the top centres in the league when it comes to face-offs, both in terms of draws won and by percentage.
In his career with the Pats, he has also earned the Rick Rypien Memorial Award for unsung hero and the Mike Kartusch Community Service Award.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
