Boland Becomes Third Moose to Sign in Germany This Offseason

The Manitoba Moose appear to have a slight retention problem, and it has been exposed this past month.

On Thursday, it was announced that forward Tyler Boland had agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the DEL's Iserlohn Roosters. 

With that contract, the 26-year-old St. John's, Newfoundland product has become already the third Moose player to ditch his American Hockey League club for greener pastures overseas in Germany.

Having spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Manitoba, this move from Boland comes at about as much of a surprise as that of star offensive defenceman Leon Gawanke and alternate captain Cole Maier also choosing to leave town earlier in May.

“The thought of going to Europe came about in my mind during this past season," Boland said through translation. "I then had a few talks and finally made the decision to go to Iserlohn. 

"This is a big step for me and I'm excited to see what awaits me," he continued. "In any case, I am intrigued and will definitely give everything I have every day to make sure that we are successful."

Boland joined the Moose in 2021-22 following the conclusion of his university career, to which he skated for four years with the University of New Brunswick Reds within Canada's U-Sports. 

The 6-foot, 195-pound forward produced nine goals and 20 points in 57 total games for Manitoba over the past two years, while also adding 20 goals and 37 points in 30 ECHL games for the Newfoundland Growlers. 

“Tyler has shown he can pull through and he's been working his way up the ranks, especially this season," said Roosters' team manager Christian Hommel, also through translation. "He can score and is well trained. Coupled with his mentality and the fact that he still has great potential, that makes him a very interesting player."

Prior to joining U-Sports, Boland had a successful Junior career with Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He scored 97 goals and 212 points in 246 regular season games over the course of four seasons. He added seven goals and 14 points in 33 postseason contests.