Springfield, MA native 2nd year defenseman Jake Ryczek(2) has definitely had an interesting little run prior to turning pro in 2019/2020 with Indy Fuel, but was traded recently a little closer to home to Adirondack Thunder for 2021/2022.
He was going to return to Indiana for 2020/2021 after a pretty successful rookie run, but the team ultimately shuttered, so he decided to not try to pursue a contract elsewhere.
The 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner played 3 campaigns of junior hockey, ultimately landing with Waterloo Blackhawks, where he scored a best 8 goals and 21 assists with a +29 rating before heading to Providence College Friars.
That last all of 5 Hockey East games before he decided to split for Halifax Mooseheads, where he kind of produced some pretty big points for a couple of QMJHL sessions.
The 23-year old did well as a rookie with 4 goals, 17 assists and a +6 rating in 46 ECHL games, and we kind of expect him to take those numbers up and maybe even earn a loan up.