Denver ahead Wright indicators NHL contract with Kings, leaves Pioneers after junior season

Denver junior ahead Jared Wright has signed a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2025-26 with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.

Wright will report back to Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on an newbie tryout for the rest of the 2024-25 marketing campaign.

Wright registered 17 factors on 9 targets and eight assists whereas enjoying in all 44 video games throughout the Pioneers’ 2024-25 season. He tied for fourth on the squad with a plus-17 score and blocked 28 photographs to assist DU attain its second straight NCAA Frozen 4.

A 2024 nationwide champion, Wright was a finalist for the NCHC sportsmanship award as he had simply six penalty minutes throughout the season and took solely eight infractions and 16 penalty minutes throughout his three years at Denver. He ranked tied for ninth on the crew in targets in 2024-25 and had three level streaks of three video games final season.

The Burnsville, Minn., native skated in his one centesimal profession recreation on Jan. 11 in opposition to Miami and recorded his fiftieth profession level in a contest versus the RedHawks as effectively with an help on Feb. 22 in Oxford, Ohio. Wright recorded profession highs with two assists (tied) and three factors (purpose, two assists) on Feb. 1 versus Omaha and posted a plus-4 score in that contest as effectively — tied for the very best plus-minus in a recreation this 12 months by a Pioneer.

He registered an help in three-straight NCHC postseason video games from March 16-22, tying a profession greatest, and scored within the NCAA Frozen 4 semifinals on Thursday in opposition to eventual nationwide champion Western Michigan. The marker was his second in his eight profession NCAA event contests, as he additionally tallied the game-winning purpose within the 2024 nationwide championship recreation in opposition to No. 1 Boston Faculty in his residence state of Minnesota on April 13, 2024.

Wright posted private highs throughout his sophomore season in 2023-24 with 15 targets and 10 assists for 25 factors. He led the crew with a .205 taking pictures share and tied for first on DU with 5 game-winning targets. The precise wing went on a career-long, six-game level streak from Nov. 3-19, 2023 (4 targets, three assists) and scored a minimum of one purpose in 4 straight outings from Feb. 17-March 1, 2024 (5 targets).

As a freshman in 2022-23, he was second amongst rookies on the squad with 12 factors (eight targets, 4 assists). He scored his first purpose and likewise added an help for his first multi-point outing on Nov. 11, 2023 at North Dakota and tallied twice the following evening versus the Combating Hawks to finish a four-point weekend (three targets, help), incomes NCHC ahead of the week honors. He additionally tallied twice on Dec. 3, 2022 in opposition to Arizona State for his second of three profession multi-goal efforts.

A back-to-back winner of DU hockey’s Dr. Ken Bredesen Most Sportsmanlike Participant award (2023-2024), Wright was additionally named to the NCHC educational all-conference crew and was a NCHC distinguished scholar-athlete in every of his three seasons on the DU hilltop. He was additionally acknowledged as an AHCA All-American Scholar in 2022-23.

He finishes his collegiate profession with 54 factors (32 targets, 22 assists), 16 penalty minutes and a plus-35 score in 122 video games. He skated in every of his closing 86 video games courting again to March 17, 2023 after lacking six outings on the finish of his rookie common season with an upper-body damage.

Wright was chosen by Los Angeles within the sixth spherical (169th general) within the 2022 NHL Draft. He attended the Kings’ prospect growth camp every of the final three summers.