NAHL alum Kyle Jean the latest to sign NHL contract

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent forward Kyle Jean.  Jean previously spent three seasons playing in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Traverse City North Stars and Marquette Rangers from 2007-10.

Jean, 22, skated in 39 games with the Lake Superior State University Lakers of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) last season, registering 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points, along with 54 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played, goals, points, and penalty minutes.  Jean ranked second on the Lakers in goals, fourth in points, sixth in assists, and second in penalty minutes. He also led the team in shots on goal (107), tied for second in plus-minus rating (plus-3) and fifth in power play goals (two).  In addition, Jean tied for 12th in the CCHA with 10 goals scored in conference play.

The 6-4, 215-pounder skated in 77 career games in his two-year collegiate career with Lake Superior State University, registering 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points, along with 99 penalty minutes.  In 2010-11, Jean led all LSSU rookies with a career-high, 13 assists. He also led LSSU freshmen and tied for 14th in the CCHA among first-year players in scoring with 14 points, and ranked second on the team overall with a plus-two rating.

The native of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan recently participated in the Rangers Prospect Development Camp from June 25-29.

Prior to attending Lake Superior State, Jean played in 134 career NAHL regular season games, the majority of the which were with the Traverse City North Stars.  He recorded 80 career points in that time frame and his best season came in 2008-09 when he had 43 points in 58 games.