Minnesota Wild prospect Jack Peart saw his season come to an end last Friday with St. Cloud State as the Huskies fell 5-4 in overtime to the University of Denver Pioneers inside Xcel Energy Center.
“We had such a close group here,” Peart told The Hockey News after the NCHC tournament semifinal loss. “Really tough for it to end like that. Just cherishing the memories we have together.”
While Peart didn't advance to the NCAA Tournament, he signed his three-year, entry-level contract with Minnesota four days later (on Tuesday) — bypassing his senior year at St. Cloud. And now, Peart, a second-round pick by Minnesota in 2021, will start making new memories as a defenseman in the Wild organization.
Peart's entry-level deal starts next year and will run through the 2026-27 season. He also signed an amateur-tryout agreement for the remainder of the season with the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's AHL affiliate, which gives him a head start for next season.
Peart contributed three goals and 14 points for the Huskies this season as a junior. The 20-year-old left-shot defender recorded 24 points in 39 games in his sophomore season a year ago.
And while his offense dipped a bit, the Grand Rapids native believes he took another step in the right direction this season. “I know the offense wasn’t there,” Peart said Friday, “but I definitely think I took a step as a player. I thought I defended a lot better than I have in the past, and I think there was definitely some growth in my game.”
Peart's biggest emphasis this past summer was to become quicker, and he feels like he did that and got stronger this season. “I think my biggest strength is probably my puck-moving, breaking out pucks, exiting the D-zone as quick as possible,” Peart said.
Peart played on the Huskies' second defensive pair with usage on both the power play and penalty kill this season. He also earned Second-Team All-NCHC honors for a second straight season. Peart's goal moving forward is simple: “Just to keep getting better,” he said, just like he did each year in St. Cloud.
And now Peart has the opportunity to continue to do that right now in Iowa.
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