Gophers senior defenseman Jackson LaCombe signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, the NHL team announced.
Gophers senior defenseman Jackson LaCombe signs with Anaheim Ducks
The Eden Prairie native had nine goals and 26 assists for Minnesota this season, ranking fourth on the team.
April 10, 2023 at 7:25PM
![Minnesota defenseman Jackson LaCombe (2) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the second period Friday, Oct. 21, 2022 at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. ]](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/LY225BXS6HQJHY3AZ573X6IZW4.jpg?&w=712)
LaCombe, a second-round pick (39th overall) of the Ducks in the 2019 NHL draft, completed his senior season with the Gophers on Saturday night in a 3-2 overtime loss to Quinnipiac in the NCAA men's Frozen Four championship game.
The Eden Prairie native and former Shattuck-St. Mary's standout, ranked fourth on the Gophers in scoring this season with a career-high 35 points on nine goals and 26 assists. The 6-2, 200-pounder earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and was named to the NCAA Fargo Regional all-tournament team.
For his career, LaCombe, 22, had 19 goals, 80 assists and a plus-53 rating in 140 games. He had a year of eligibility remaining because of the extra COVID-19 year granted by the NCAA but chose not to use it.
At Shattuck-St. Mary's, LaCombe had 25 goals and 105 assists in 100 career games, including posting a 22-67—89 line in 54 games as a senior in 2018-19.
On Sunday, Gophers junior defenseman Brock Faber signed with the Wild and sophomore forward Matthew Knies signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Another Minnesotan, defenseman Drew Helleson of Farmington, made his NHL debut Sunday for Anaheim. He's a former Boston College player.
The Gophers need to replace Jess Oakland, who transferred to Duke. They’ll be counting on Sydney Schwartz and Taylor Krapf.
