The Montreal Canadiens have added a college free agent of their own, signing Thomas Ebbing to a one-year two-way minor league deal, meaning it will not take up one of the Canadiens NHL contract slots. Ebbing recently graduated from Michigan State University where he spent the last four years after going undrafted out of the USHL.
A defensive forward, Ebbing was known for his faceoff skill and penalty killing ability. At 22, he still has room to grow as a player but it’s hard to expect him to ever make an NHL impact. Instead, he’ll try to be a part of the inaugural season of the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s new AHL affiliate. The Rocket will start play in 2017-18 in the new 10,000 seat Place Bell arena being constructed in Laval, a huge upgrade from the ~6,200-seat Mile One Centre that the St. John’s Ice Caps currently play at.
Ebbing scored 16 points in 35 games this past season, actually the fifth most on his team. The Spartans went just 7-24-4 this season, their worst record in nearly 40 years.